Editing Lake Toba

{{short description|Volcanic lake located in North Sumatra Province, Indonesia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Lake Toba
| other_name = {{native name|id|Danau Toba}}
| image = Lake Toba and the surrounding hills.jpg
| image_size = 300
| caption = A view of Lake Toba and [[Samosir|Samosir Island]]
| image_bathymetry =
| caption_bathymetry =
| location = [[Balige]], [[North Sumatra]]
| coords = {{Coord|2.68|98.88|region:ID_type:waterbody_scale:500000|display=inline,title}}
| pushpin_map = Indonesia#Indonesia Sumatra
| type = Volcanic/tectonic
| inflow =
| outflow = [[Asahan River]]
| catchment =
| part_of = Asahan Toba basin
| basin_countries = {{flag|Indonesia}}
| length = {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| width = {{convert|30|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| area = {{convert|1130|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}
| depth =
{{convert|216|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| max-depth = {{convert|505|m|ft|abbr=on}}<ref name="WorldLakes"/>
| volume = {{convert|244|km3|cumi|abbr=on}}
| residence_time =
| shore =
| elevation = {{convert|905|m|ft|abbr=on}}
| islands = [[Samosir]], Sibandang
| cities = Ambarita, Pangururan
| reference = <ref name="WorldLakes"/>
}}

'''Lake Toba''' ({{langx|id|Danau Toba}}, [[Toba Batak language|Toba Batak]]: ᯖᯀᯬ ᯖᯬᯅ; [[romanized]]: ''Tao Toba'') is a large natural [[lake]] in [[North Sumatra]], Indonesia, occupying the [[caldera]] of the '''Toba''' [[supervolcano]]. The lake is located in the middle of the northern part of the [[island]] of Sumatra, with a surface elevation of about {{convert|900|m|0}}, the lake stretches from {{Coord|2.88|N|98.52|E}} to {{Coord|2.35|N|99.1|E}}. The lake is about {{convert|100|km|mi|abbr=off}} long, {{convert|30|km}} wide, and up to {{convert|505|m}} deep. It is the largest [[list of lakes in Indonesia|lake in Indonesia]] and the largest [[volcanic lake]] in the world.<ref name="WorldLakes">{{cite web|url=http://www.worldlakes.org/lakedetails.asp?lakeid=8367|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030926042837/http://www.worldlakes.org/lakedetails.asp?lakeid=8367|url-status=usurped|archive-date=26 September 2003|title=LakeNet – Lakes}}</ref> Toba Caldera is one of twenty [[geopark]]s in Indonesia,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://en.tempo.co/read/1192974/govt-expects-unesco-to-recognize-kaldera-toba-geopark-this-year|title=Gov't Expects UNESCO to Recognize Kaldera Toba Geopark This Year|newspaper=Tempo|access-date=16 July 2018}}</ref> and was recognised in July 2020 as one of the [[Global Geoparks Network|UNESCO Global Geoparks]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gunawan|first=Apriadi|title=Toba caldera finally recognized as UNESCO Global Geopark |url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/travel/2020/07/08/toba-caldera-finally-recognized-as-unesco-global-geopark.html|date=8 July 2020|access-date=9 July 2020|website=The Jakarta Post|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2015/07/09/lake-toba-proposed-world-geopark-heritage-site.html|title=Lake Toba proposed as world geopark heritage site|newspaper=The Jakarta Post|access-date=16 July 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url= https://travel.kompas.com/read/2019/03/16/132851327/perjalanan-geopark-kaldera-danau-toba-masuk-daftar-ugg|title=Perjalanan Geopark Kaldera Danau Toba Masuk Daftar UGG|newspaper=Kompas|access-date=16 July 2018}}</ref>

Lake Toba is the site of a [[Supervolcano|supervolcanic]] [[Youngest Toba eruption|eruption]] estimated at [[Volcanic Explosivity Index|VEI]] 8 that occurred 69,000 to 77,000 years ago,<ref>{{cite gvp|name=Toba: General Information|vn=261090|access-date=24 June 2021}}</ref><ref name=chesner1991 /><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ninkovich|first=D. |author2=N.J. Shackleton |author3=A.A. Abdel-Monem |author4=J.D. Obradovich |author5=G. Izett|date=7 December 1978|title=K−Ar age of the late Pleistocene eruption of Toba, north Sumatra|journal=Nature|issue=5688|pages=574–577 |doi=10.1038/276574a0|volume=276|bibcode=1978Natur.276..574N|s2cid=4364788 }}<!--|access-date=5 March 2010--></ref> representing a climate-changing event. Recent advances in dating methods suggest a more accurate eruption date of 74,000 years ago.<ref>Vogel, Gretchen, [https://www.science.org/content/article/how-ancient-humans-survived-global-volcanic-winter-massive-eruption?et_rid=382659176&et_cid=1903121 How ancient humans survived global 'volcanic winter' from massive eruption], Science, 12 March 2018</ref> It is the largest-known explosive eruption on [[Earth]] in the last 25 million years. According to the [[Toba catastrophe theory]], the eruption had global consequences for human populations as it killed most humans living at that time and is believed to have created a [[population bottleneck]] in central east Africa and India, which affects the genetic make-up of the human worldwide population to the present.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/2975862.stm|title=When humans faced extinction|publisher=BBC|date=9 June 2003|access-date=5 January 2007}}</ref> A recent study has cast doubt on this theory and found no evidence of substantial changes in global population.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yost |first1=Chad L. |last2=Jackson |first2=Lily J. |last3=Stone |first3=Jeffery R. |last4=Cohen |first4=Andrew S. |title=Subdecadal phytolith and charcoal records from Lake Malawi, East Africa imply minimal effects on human evolution from the ~74 ka Toba supereruption |journal=Journal of Human Evolution |date=March 2018 |volume=116 |pages=75–94 |doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.11.005 |pmid=29477183 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2018JHumE.116...75Y }}</ref>

It was also suggested that the eruption of the Toba Caldera led to a [[volcanic winter]] with a worldwide decrease in temperature between {{Convert|3|and|5|C-change|F-change}}, and up to {{Convert|15|C-change|F-change}} at higher latitudes. Additional studies in [[Lake Malawi]] in East Africa show significant amounts of ash being deposited from the Toba Caldera eruptions, even at that great distance, but little indication of a significant climatic effect in East Africa.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lane |first1=Christine S. |author-link1=Christine Lane |last2=Chorn |first2=Ben T. |last3=Johnson |first3=Thomas C. |date=29 April 2013 |title=Ash from the Toba supereruption in Lake Malawi shows no volcanic winter in East Africa at 75 ka |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=110 |issue=20 |pages=8025–8029 |bibcode=2013PNAS..110.8025L |doi=10.1073/pnas.1301474110 |pmc=3657767 |pmid=23630269 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Geology==
[[File:Lake Toba, North Sumatra (71).JPG|thumb|Batu Gantung (Hanging stone) in Lake Toba]]
[[File:Map of Lake Toba.jpg|thumb|Map of the lake]]
The Toba [[Caldera]] in [[North Sumatra]] comprises four overlapping volcanic craters that adjoin the Sumatran "volcanic front". At {{convert|100|by|30|km}} it is the world's largest [[Quaternary]] caldera, and the fourth and youngest caldera. It intersects the three older calderas. An estimated {{cvt|2800|km3}} of [[dense-rock equivalent]] pyroclastic material, known as the youngest Toba [[tuff]], was released during one of the largest explosive volcanic eruptions in recent geological history.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Budd|first1=David A.|last2=Troll|first2=Valentin R.|last3=Deegan|first3=Frances M.|last4=Jolis|first4=Ester M.|last5=Smith|first5=Victoria C.|last6=Whitehouse|first6=Martin J.|last7=Harris|first7=Chris|last8=Freda|first8=Carmela|last9=Hilton|first9=David R.|last10=Halldórsson|first10=Sæmundur A.|last11=Bindeman|first11=Ilya N.|date=25 January 2017|title=Magma reservoir dynamics at Toba caldera, Indonesia, recorded by oxygen isotope zoning in quartz|journal=Scientific Reports|language=en|volume=7|issue=1|pages=40624|doi=10.1038/srep40624|pmid=28120860|pmc=5264179|bibcode=2017NatSR...740624B|issn=2045-2322}}</ref> Following this eruption, a resurgent dome formed within the new caldera, joining two half-domes separated by a longitudinal [[graben]].<ref name=chesner1991>{{Cite journal|url= http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~raman/papers/ChesnerGeology.pdf |author1=Chesner, C.A. |author2=Westgate, J.A. |author3=Rose, W.I. |author4=Drake, R. |author5=Deino, A. |journal=Geology |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=200–203 |title=Eruptive history of Earth's largest Quaternary caldera (Toba, Indonesia) clarified |publisher=Michigan Technological University |date=1991 |access-date=23 August 2008 |bibcode=1991Geo....19..200C |doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1991)019<0200:EHOESL>2.3.CO;2}}</ref>

At least four cones, four [[stratovolcano]]es, and three craters are visible in the lake. The Tandukbenua cone on the northwestern edge of the caldera has only sparse vegetation, suggesting a young age of several hundred years. Also, the Pusubukit (Hill Center) volcano ({{cvt|1971|m}} above sea level) on the south edge of the caldera is [[solfatara|solfatarically]] active.<ref>{{cite gvp|name=Toba: Synonyms & Subfeatures|vtab=Subfeatures|vn=261090|access-date=24 June 2021}}</ref>

==Major eruption==
{{Main|Toba catastrophe theory}}
[[File:Lake Toba location.png|thumb|left|Location of Lake Toba shown in red on map]]
The ''Toba eruption'' (the ''Toba event'') occurred at what is now Lake Toba about 73,700±300 years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mark|first1=Darren F.|last2=Renne|first2=Paul R.|last3=Dymock|first3=Ross C.|last4=Smith|first4=Victoria C.|last5=Simon|first5=Justin I.|last6=Morgan|first6=Leah E.|last7=Staff|first7=Richard A.|last8=Ellis|first8=Ben S.|last9=Pearce|first9=Nicholas J. G.|date=1 April 2017|title=High-precision 40Ar/39Ar dating of pleistocene tuffs and temporal anchoring of the Matuyama-Brunhes boundary|journal=Quaternary Geochronology|language=en|volume=39|pages=1–23|doi=10.1016/j.quageo.2017.01.002|issn=1871-1014|doi-access=free|hdl=10023/10236|hdl-access=free}}</ref> It was the last in a series of at least four [[caldera]]-forming eruptions at this location, with the earlier known caldera having formed around 1.2 million years ago.<ref name=OregonState/> This last eruption had an estimated [[Volcanic explosivity index|VEI]] of 8, making it the largest-known explosive [[volcanic eruption]] in the Quaternary.

[[William I. Rose (geologist)|Bill Rose]] and Craig Chesner of [[Michigan Technological University]] have estimated that the total amount of material released in the eruption was at least {{convert|2800|km3|abbr=on}}<ref name=USGS>{{cite web |url= http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/2005/05_04_28.html |title=Supersized eruptions are all the rage! |date=28 April 2005 |publisher=United States Geological Survey}}</ref>—about {{convert|2000|km3|abbr=on}} of [[ignimbrite]] that flowed over the ground, and approximately {{convert|800|km3|abbr=on}} that fell as ash mostly to the west. However, as more outcrops become available, Toba possibly erupted {{convert|3200|km3|abbr=on}} of ignimbrite and co-ignimbrite. The [[pyroclastic flow]]s of the eruption destroyed an area of least {{convert|20000|km2|abbr=on}}, with ash deposits as thick as {{convert|600|m|abbr=on}} by the main vent.<ref name=USGS/> The eruption was large enough to have deposited an ash layer approximately {{convert|15|cm|abbr=on|0}} thick over all of [[South Asia]]; at one site in central India, the Toba ash layer today is up to {{convert|6|m|abbr=on}} thick<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1006/qres.1993.1051 | last1 = Acharyya | first1 = S.K. | last2 = Basu | first2 = P.K. | year = 1993 | title = Toba ash on the South Asia and its implications for correlation of late pleistocene alluvium | journal = Quaternary Research | volume = 40 | issue = 1 | pages = 10–19 |bibcode = 1993QuRes..40...10A | s2cid = 128545662 }}</ref> and parts of [[Malaysia]] were covered with {{convert|9|m|abbr=on}} of ash fall.<ref>{{cite book |author=Scrivenor, John Brooke |year=1931 |title=The Geology of Malaya |location=London |publisher=MacMillan |oclc=3575130 }}, noted by Weber.</ref>

The subsequent collapse formed a caldera that filled with water, creating Lake Toba. The island in the center of the lake is formed by a [[resurgent dome]].

[[File:Toba overview.jpg|thumbnail|right|[[Landsat]] photo of Sumatra surrounding Lake Toba]]

The exact year of the eruption is unknown, but the pattern of ash deposits suggests that it occurred during the northern summer because only the [[Monsoon|summer monsoon]] could have deposited Toba ashfall in the South China Sea.<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1130/0091-7613(2000)028<0275:TALITS>2.3.CO;2 | last1 = Bühring | first1 = C. | last2 = Sarnthein | first2 = M. | last3 = Leg 184 Shipboard Scientific Party | year = 2000 | title = Toba ash layers in the South China Sea: evidence of contrasting wind directions during eruption ca. 74 ka. | journal = Geology | volume = 28 | issue = 3| pages = 275–278 }}</ref> The eruption lasted perhaps two weeks, and the ensuing volcanic winter resulted in a decrease in average global temperatures by {{convert|3.0|to|3.5|C-change|F-change|0|abbr=on}} for several years. [[Ice cores]] from [[Greenland]] record a pulse of starkly reduced levels of organic [[carbon sequestration]]. Very few plants or animals in southeast Asia would have survived, and it is possible that the eruption caused a planet-wide die-off. However, the global cooling has been discussed by Rampino and Self. Their conclusion is that the cooling had already started before Toba's eruption. This conclusion was supported by Lane and Zielinski who studied the lake-core from Africa and [[Greenland Ice Sheet Project|GISP2]]. They concluded that there was no volcanic winter after the Toba eruption and that high [[Sulfuric acid|H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>]] deposits do not cause long-term effects.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lane |first=Christine S |author-link=Christine Lane |date=2013 |title=Ash from the Toba supereruption in Lake Malawi shows no volcanic winter in East Africa at 75 ka |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=110 |issue=20 |pages=8025–8029 |bibcode=2013PNAS..110.8025L |doi=10.1073/pnas.1301474110 |pmc=3657767 |pmid=23630269 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url = https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1192&context=ers_facpub|title = Potential atmospheric impact of the Toba Mega-Eruption ~71,000 years ago|last = Zielinski|first = GA|date = 1996|journal = Geophysical Research Letters|doi = 10.1029/96GL00706|bibcode=1996GeoRL..23..837Z|volume=23|issue = 8|pages=837–840}}</ref> Furthermore, due to the low solubility of sulfur in the magma, the emission of volatiles and climate impacts are likely limited.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Chesner|first1=Craig A.|last2=Luhr|first2=James F.|date=30 November 2010|title=A melt inclusion study of the Toba Tuffs, Sumatra, Indonesia|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377027310001824|journal=Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research|series=Continental Margin Volcanism – A volume in memory of James F. Luhr|language=en|volume=197|issue=1|pages=259–278|doi=10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2010.06.001|bibcode=2010JVGR..197..259C|issn=0377-0273}}</ref>

Evidence from studies of [[mitochondrial DNA]] suggests that humans may have passed through a [[genetic bottleneck]] around this time that reduced genetic diversity below what would be expected given the age of the species. According to the Toba catastrophe theory, proposed by Stanley H. Ambrose of the [[University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign]] in 1998, the effects of the Toba eruption may have decreased the size of human populations to only a few tens of thousands of individuals.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=164 |date=11 January 2005 |publisher=Suburban Emergency Management Project |title=Yellowstone Is a Supervolcano? |access-date=21 February 2008 |journal=Biot Reports |issue=164 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080113051422/http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=164 |archive-date=13 January 2008 }}</ref> However, this hypothesis is not widely accepted because similar effects on other animal species have not been observed, and [[paleoanthropology]] suggests there was no [[population bottleneck]].<ref name="argo">Gathorne-Hardy, F. J., and Harcourt-Smith, W. E. H., [http://ice2.uab.cat/argo/Argo_actualitzacio/argo_butlleti/ccee/geologia/arxius/4Gathorne-Hardy.pdf "The super-eruption of Toba, did it cause a human bottleneck?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014094245/http://ice2.uab.cat/argo/Argo_actualitzacio/argo_butlleti/ccee/geologia/arxius/4Gathorne-Hardy.pdf |date=14 October 2013 }}, Journal of Human Evolution 45 (2003) 227–230.</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|title = The Toba volcanic super-eruption, environmental change, and hominin occupation history in India over the last 140,000 years|last = Petraglia|first = Michael D|date = 2012|journal = Quaternary International|doi = 10.1016/j.quaint.2011.07.042|volume=258|pages=119–134|bibcode =2012QuInt.258..119P}}</ref> The genetic bottleneck is now recognized to be the [[Recent African origin of modern humans|Out-of-Africa]] [[founder effect]], rather than an actual reduction in population.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Li|first1=Heng|last2=Durbin|first2=Richard|date=July 2011|title=Inference of human population history from individual whole-genome sequences|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=475|issue=7357|pages=493–496|doi=10.1038/nature10231|pmid=21753753|issn=1476-4687|pmc=3154645}}</ref>

===More recent activity===
Since the major eruption ~70,000 years ago, eruptions of smaller magnitude have also occurred at Toba. The small cone of Pusukbukit formed on the southwestern margin of the caldera and lava domes. The most recent eruption may have been at Tandukbenua on the northwestern caldera edge, suggested by a lack of vegetation that could be due to an eruption within the last few hundred years.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.volcanodiscovery.com/volcano-tours/volcanoes/indonesia/sumatra/toba/|title=Toba volcano (Indonesia, Sumatra)|publisher=VolcanoDiscovery.com}}<!-- Bot generated title --></ref>

Some parts of the caldera have shown uplift due to partial refilling of the [[magma chamber]], for example, pushing [[Samosir|Samosir Island]] and the [[Uluan Peninsula]] above the surface of the lake. The lake sediments on Samosir Island show that it has risen by at least {{convert|450|m|0|abbr=on}}<ref name=OregonState/> since the cataclysmic eruption. Such uplifts are common in very large calderas, apparently due to the upward pressure of below-ground [[magma]]. Toba is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth. Large [[earthquake]]s have recently occurred in the vicinity of the volcano, notably in 1987 along the southern shore of the lake at a depth of {{convert|11|km|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/eqarchives/significant/sig_1987.php|title=Significant Earthquakes of the World|publisher=United States Geological Survey (USGS)}}<!-- Bot generated title --></ref> Such earthquakes have also been recorded in 1892, 1916, and 1920–1922.<ref name="OregonState">[https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00280226 Stratigraphy of the Toba Tuffs and the evolution of the Toba Caldera Complex, Sumatra, Indonesia]</ref>

In 2016, a study revealed that the Toba Supervolcano has a magma chamber containing {{convert|50000|km3|mi3}} of eruptible magma, about {{convert|30|-|50|km|mi}} underground.<ref name="Koulakov_etal_2016">{{cite journal | title=The feeder system of the Toba supervolcano from the slab to the shallow reservoir | first1=I. | last1=Koulakov | first2=E. | last2=Kasatkina | first3=N.M. | last3=Shapiro | first4=C. | last4=Jaupart | first5=A. |last5=Vasilevsky | first6=S. | last6=El Khrepy | first7=N. | last7=Al-Arifi | first8=S. | last8=Smirnov | journal=Nature Communications | year=2016 | volume=7| page=12228 | doi=10.1038/ncomms12228 | pmid=27433784 | pmc=4960321 | bibcode=2016NatCo...712228K }}</ref> This makes the supervolcano's magma chamber more than four times larger than the volume of [[Lake Superior]] in North America, and also larger than the magma chamber underneath [[Yellowstone Caldera|Yellowstone]].<ref name="bigger">{{cite web|url=https://www.iflscience.com/environment/the-toba-supervolcano-has-a-bigger-underground-magma-chamber-than-yellowstone/all/|title=The Toba Supervolcano Has A Bigger Underground Magma Chamber Than Yellowstone|website=iflscience.com|author=Robin Andrews|publisher=IFL Science!|date=20 July 2016|access-date=2 April 2021}}</ref>

Lake Toba lies near the [[Great Sumatran fault]], which runs along the centre of Sumatra in the [[Great Sumatran fault|Sumatra fracture zone]].<ref name=OregonState/> The volcanoes of Sumatra and Java are part of the [[Sunda Arc]], a result of the northeasterly movement of the [[Indo-Australian plate]], which is sliding under the eastward-moving [[Eurasian plate]]. The [[subduction]] zone in this area is very active: the seabed near the west coast of Sumatra has had several major earthquakes since 1995, including the 9.1 [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami|2004 Indian Ocean earthquake]] and the 8.7 [[2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake]], the epicenters of which were around {{convert|300|km|abbr=on}} from Toba.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

==People==
[[File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Batak prauwen bij Haranggaol aan het Tobameer TMnr 60043981.jpg|thumb|Batak canoes near Haranggaol on Lake Toba (circa 1920)]]

Most of the people who live around Lake Toba are ethnically [[Batak (Indonesia)|Bataks]]. Traditional Batak houses are noted for their distinctive roofs (which curve upwards at each end, as a boat's hull does) and their colorful decor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indonesianmusic.com/batak.htm|title=Batak People|publisher=IndonesianMusic.com|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080813012857/http://www.indonesianmusic.com/batak.htm|archive-date=13 August 2008}}</ref>

==Transportation==
[[Parapat]] is located on the edge of the lake, which is the transit point to travel the lake and [[Samosir Island]]. [[Medan]] is about 173&nbsp;km by road from the town and is connected via the [[Trans-Sumatran Highway]] to [[Pematang Siantar]] by a 48&nbsp;km road. [[Sisingamangaraja XII International Airport]] is located about 76&nbsp;km from Parapat.{{citation needed|date=August 2024}}

==Flora and fauna==
The [[flora]] of the lake includes various types of [[phytoplankton]], emerged [[macrophyte]]s, floating macrophytes, and submerged macrophytes, while the surrounding countryside is rainforest including areas of [[Sumatran tropical pine forests]] on the higher mountainsides.<ref name=ILEC>{{cite web|url=http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/asi/asi-10.html|title=Danau Toba (Lake Toba)|publisher=International Lake Environment Committee|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090303224151/http://www.ilec.or.jp/database/asi/asi-10.html|archive-date=3 March 2009}}</ref>

The [[fauna]] includes several species of [[zooplankton]] and [[benthos|benthic]] animals. Since the lake is [[oligotrophic]] (nutrient-poor), the native fish fauna is relatively scarce, and the only [[Endemism|endemics]] are ''[[Rasbora tobana]]'' (strictly speaking near-endemic, since also found in some tributary rivers that run into the lake)<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1643/CI-09-155 |title=Four New Species of the Rasbora trifasciata-Group (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from Northwestern Sumatra, Indonesia |journal=Copeia |volume=2010 |issue=4 |pages=644–70 |year=2010 |last1=Lumbantobing |first1=Daniel N |s2cid=86114358 }}</ref> and ''[[Neolissochilus thienemanni]]'', locally known as the Batak fish.<ref name=Saragih>{{cite journal |doi=10.1046/j.1440-1770.2001.00155.x |title=Lake Toba: Need for an integrated management system |journal=Lakes and Reservoirs: Research and Management |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=247–51 |year=2001 |last1=Saragih |first1=Bungaran |last2=Sunito |first2=Satyawan |bibcode=2001LRRM....6..247S }}</ref> The latter species is threatened by deforestation (causing [[siltation]]), pollution, changes in water level and the numerous fish species that have been [[Introduced species|introduced]] to the lake.<ref name=Saragih/> Other native fishes include species such as ''[[Aplocheilus panchax]]'', ''[[Nemacheilus pfeifferae]]'', ''[[Homaloptera gymnogaster]]'', ''[[Channa gachua]]'', ''[[Channa striata]]'', ''[[Clarias batrachus]]'', ''[[Barbonymus gonionotus]]'', ''[[Barbonymus schwanenfeldii]]'', ''[[Danio albolineatus]]'', ''[[Osteochilus vittatus]]'', ''[[Puntius binotatus]]'', ''[[Rasbora jacobsoni]]'', ''[[Tor tambra]]'', ''[[Betta imbellis]]'', ''[[Betta taeniata]]'' and ''[[Monopterus albus]]''.<ref name=fishbase>[[FishBase]] (2012). ''[http://fishbase.org/trophiceco/FishEcoList.php?ve_code=547 Species in Toba.]'' Accessed 25 January 2012</ref> Among the many introduced species are ''[[Anabas testudineus]]'', ''[[Oreochromis mossambicus]]'', ''[[Oreochromis niloticus]]'', ''[[Ctenopharyngodon idella]]'', ''[[Cyprinus carpio]]'', ''[[Osphronemus goramy]]'', ''[[Trichogaster pectoralis]]'', ''[[Trichopodus trichopterus]]'', ''[[Poecilia reticulata]]'' and ''[[Xiphophorus hellerii]]''.<ref name=fishbase/>

{{wide image|Lake Toba banner.jpg|1000px|Panoramic view of Lake Toba|left}}

==Sinking of MV ''Sinar Bangun''==
{{main|Sinking of MV Sinar Bangun}}
On 18 June 2018, Lake Toba was the scene of [[Sinking of MV Sinar Bangun|a ferry disaster]], in which over 160 people drowned.<ref>{{cite news|title=Indonesia ferry disaster: Lake Toba captain detained|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44560262 |publisher=BBC|date=21 June 2018|access-date=25 June 2018}}</ref> [[Sinking of MV Sinar Bangun|MV ''Sinar Bangun'']] was an irregular operating vessel on the lake which capsized with many passengers on board. The incident caused the death of 167 people and injuries to a number of others. Preliminary reports found the vessel was in operation with irregularities. Ignoring overloading on the vessel and operating in rough weather conditions were concluded to be the main reasons leading to the disaster.

==In popular culture==
''The Origin of Lake Toba'' is a folk story about the lake, in which once upon a time, there was a fisherman who caught a golden fish. Samosir Island is believed to be the golden fish's son.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kaltsum|first1=Honest Ummi|last2=Utami|first2=Ratnasari Diah|date=7 November 2015|title=Folklores as English Teaching Media for The Young Learners|url=http://publikasiilmiah.ums.ac.id/handle/11617/6337|language=en-US|issn=2477-3328}}</ref>

== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Lake Toba Aerial View.JPG|Lake Toba Aerial View
File:LakeTobaSEShore.jpg|Aerial view of the southern shore with Sibandang Island visible in the background
File:AmbaritaView.jpg|View of the lake with an example of Batak architecture in the foreground
File:Tradbatakhouse.jpg|Traditional Batak house at Ambarita, Lake Toba
File:Air terjun sipiso-piso.jpg|[[Sipisopiso|Sipiso-Piso Waterfall]]
File:DanauToba20110608-1.jpg|Lake Toba from Tongging Village, near Sipiso-Piso Waterfall
File:Indonesia 1992 1000r o.jpg|Lake Toba featured in [[Indonesian rupiah|1,000-rupiah banknote]]
File:COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Houtsnijwerk op de voorsteven van een Toba Batak prauw Tobameer TMnr 10017614.jpg|Details of carvings on the prow of a Toba Batak canoe
File:Toba zoom.jpg|The caldera of Lake Toba, with a resurgent dome, forming Samosir Island
File:A partial view of Toba Lake.jpg|alt=A panoramic partial view of Toba Lake, as seen from the west side to the southeast|A panoramic partial view of Toba Lake, as seen from the west side to the southeast
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Lakes|Volcanoes|Indonesia}}
* [[List of lakes of Indonesia]]
* [[List of volcanoes in Indonesia]]
* [[Samosir|Samosir Island]]
* [[Batak|Batak people]]
* [[Nias people]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal|author=Rampino, Michael R. and Stephen Self|title=Climate-volcanism feedback and the Toba eruption of 74,000 Years Ago|journal=Quaternary Research|year=1993|volume=40|issue=3|pages=269–280|doi=10.1006/qres.1993.1081 |bibcode = 1993QuRes..40..269R |s2cid=129546088 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1229950}}
* {{cite journal|author=Vazquez, Jorge A. and Mary R. Reid|title=Probing the accumulation history of the voluminous Toba Magma|journal=Science|year=2004|issue=5686|volume=305|pages=991–994 | doi = 10.1126/science.1096994|pmid=15310899|bibcode = 2004Sci...305..991V |s2cid=43565268}}
* {{cite journal|author=Petraglia, M.|title=Middle Paleolithic Assemblages from the Indian Subcontinent Before and After the Toba Super-Eruption|journal=Science|year=2007|issue=5834|volume=317|pages=114–116 | doi = 10.1126/science.1141564|pmid=17615356|bibcode = 2007Sci...317..114P |s2cid=20380351|display-authors=etal|url=https://ro.uow.edu.au/era/2117}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/toba Toba, Sumatra, Indonesia – Volcano.oregonstate.edu] Accessed 11 December 2005
* [http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/evolution/ Stanley H. Ambrose, ''Volcanic Winter, and Differentiation of Modern Humans''] Accessed 11 December 2005
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20061104193725/http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0503/resources_who.html Joel Achenbach, ''Who Knew'', National Geographic] Accessed 11 December 2005
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20151116125129/http://laketoba.org/ (Lake Toba Ecosystem Management Plan) From laketoba.org ]
* [http://www.livescience.com/48545-toba-supervolcano-layered-sills-reservoir.html Magma 'Pancakes' May Have Fueled Toba Supervolcano]
* {{Wikivoyage inline}}
{{good article}}

{{Tourist attractions in Indonesia}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toba, Lake}}
[[Category:Lake Toba| ]]
[[Category:Batak]]
[[Category:Volcanic crater lakes]]
[[Category:Lakes of Sumatra]]
[[Category:Geoparks in Indonesia]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in North Sumatra]]
[[Category:Subduction volcanoes]]
[[Category:Supervolcanoes]]
[[Category:VEI-8 volcanoes]]
[[Category:Calderas of Indonesia]]
[[Category:Volcanoes of Sumatra]]
[[Category:Landforms of North Sumatra]]
[[Category:Pleistocene calderas]]
[[Category:Asahan Toba basin]]