Toba

Toba

(tō`bä), largest lake of Indonesia, 448 sq mi (1,160 sq km), N Sumatra. Situated in a vast volcanic caldera that is 1,475 ft (450 m) deep and was formed by a tremendous eruption some 74,000 years ago, it is drained by the Asahan River. In the lake is Samosir, a large island (205 sq mi/531 sq km) that is linked to the mainland by an isthmus. The eruption of Toba is hypothesized by some scientists to have decimated the early human inhabitants of S Asia.

Toba

 

a lake in the northern part of Sumatra in Indonesia. Located on the volcanic Batak plateau, the lake is in a tectonic depression at an elevation of 911 m. With an area of approximately 1,300 sq km, it is Sumatra’s largest lake. It reaches a depth of 529 m. In the center of the lake is the island of Samosir, with an area of 640 sq km and elevations up to 1,630 m. There is fishing and navigation on the lake, and rice is grown along the shores.