Word.ws English Dictionary

cryptodepression

Syllables: cryp·to·de·press·ionUK/ˌkɹɪptəʊdɪˈpɹɛʃən/US/ˌkɹiptoʊdəˈpɹɛʃ(ə)n/

cryptodepression noun: the portion of a lake which lies below sea level.

cryptodepression: the portion of a lake which lies below sea level
Image: Archivio Pietro Pensa, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

cryptodepression (plural cryptodepressions)

  1. The portion of a lake which lies below sea level.
    • When the bottom of the lake lies below mean sea level, it is said to occupy a cryptodepression, the depth of which is the depth below sea level of the deepest point of the basin.1957, G[eorge] Evelyn Hutchinson, A Treatise on Limnology, volumes I (Geography, Physics, and Chemistry), New York, N.Y.: John Wiley & Sons, →OCLC, page 165
    • The lake's elevation above sea level is 74.01 meters (242.8 feet) which makes its depth of cryptodepression to be 170 meters (558 feet).1975 March, Robert V. Thomann, Dominick M. DeToro, Richard P. Winfield, Donald J. O’Connor, “Section IV: Lake Ontario – Background”, in Mathematical Modeling of Phytoplankton in Lake Ontario: 1....

Examples of cryptodepression in a sentence

  • The greater volume of the lake [Lake Susupe] occupies a cryptodepression (that portion which lies below sea level).1979 June, “Appendix A: Problem Identification”, in A Study to Determine the Feasibility of Providing Flood Control Improvements to the...
  • Such lakes are called cryptodepressions.[2012, José Galizia Tundisi, Takako Matsumura-Tundisi, “The Origin of Lakes”, in Limnology, Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, →ISBN, section...

Forms of cryptodepression

pluralcryptodepressions

Origin of cryptodepression

From crypto- (“hidden”) + depression (“area lower in topography than its surroundings”).

Questions about cryptodepression

What does cryptodepression mean?
Cryptodepression means the portion of a lake which lies below sea level.
How do you use cryptodepression in a sentence?
The greater volume of the lake [Lake Susupe] occupies a cryptodepression (that portion which lies below sea level).
What part of speech is cryptodepression?
Cryptodepression is a noun.
How do you pronounce cryptodepression?
Cryptodepression is pronounced /ˌkɹɪptəʊdɪˈpɹɛʃən/ (UK).
What is the plural of cryptodepression?
The plural of cryptodepression is cryptodepressions.

Words near cryptodepression in the dictionary

  1. cryptocyanins
  2. cryptocyst
  3. cryptocystal
  4. cryptocystidean
  5. cryptocysts
  6. cryptodepression
  7. cryptodepressions
  8. cryptodiran
  9. cryptodirans
  10. cryptodire
  11. cryptodires

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: cryptodepression (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-cryptodepression.ogg.

Cite this entry: “cryptodepression.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cryptodepression. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.