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# Millions of years ago, Paratethys was the largest lake on Earth, covering 2.8 million square kilometres and stretching from present-day France to the Altai
- URL: https://theparnassian.com/en/milliony-let-nazad-paratetis-byl-krupneishim-ozerom-na-zemle-zanimal-ploshchad-2-8-milliona-kvadratnykh-kilometrov-i-prostiralsia-ot-sovremennoi-frantsii-do-altaia/
- Published: 2025-07-25T06:33:28.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-01T05:29:20.000Z
- Author: Alexandr Radayev
- Tags: Geography, Science, Nature

Millions of years ago, Paratethys was the largest lake on Earth, covering 2.8 million square kilometres and stretching from present-day France to the Altai. The water level in the lake stood 80 metres above that of today's World Ocean.

Paratethys, often called an ocean, existed some 11 million years ago, but then began gradually to dry up and shrink. When it vanished, three seas appeared in its place: the Black, the Caspian and the Aral.

Paratethys came into being through the northward movement of Africa, which continues to this day.

At various times, other seas existed on the site occupied by Paratethys, in various configurations that incorporated present-day bodies of water. For example, the Sarmatian Sea, the Pannonian Sea, and the Akchagyl and Apsheron seas. The Black Sea, the Caspian Sea and the Aral, now almost vanished, are parts of ancient seas that at times merged into one and at times parted again.