List of lakes by area

This is a list of terrestrial lakes with a surface area of more than 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), ranked by area.^[1][2][3] This list does not include reservoirs and lagoons.

The area of some lakes can vary considerably over time, either seasonally or from year to year. This is especially true of salt lakes in arid climates.

This list does not include extraterrestrial lakes, such as Kraken Mare (400 000 km2) on Saturn's moon, Titan.

List of lakes

Continent color
Africa	Asia	Europe	North America	South America	Antarctica

	Name	Countries with shoreline	Area	Length	Maximum depth	Water volume	Thumbnail (same scale for all lakes)	Notes
1	Caspian Sea*	Kazakhstan  Russia  Turkmenistan  Azerbaijan  Iran	436,000 km^2 (168,000 sq mi)	1,199 km (745 mi)	1,025 m (3,363 ft)	78,200 km^3 (18,800 cu mi)		Despite its name the Caspian Sea is often regarded as the world's largest lake, but it contains an oceanic basin (contiguous with the world ocean until 11 million years ago) rather than being entirely over continental crust.[4][5][6][7][8]
2	Superior[n 1]	Canada  United States	82,100 km^2 (31,700 sq mi)[9]	616 km (383 mi)[9]	406.3 m (1,333 ft)[9]	12,100 km^3 (2,900 cu mi)[9]		Largest of the Great Lakes by volume, having more water than the other four combined.[10] Popularly considered the largest freshwater lake by surface area,[11] though Lakes Michigan and Huron are treated hydrologically as a single entity due to their connection at the deep watered Straits of Mackinac; this single entity would be the largest freshwater lake by surface area if it were treated as a single lake.[n 1]
3	Victoria	Uganda  Kenya  Tanzania	68,870 km^2 (26,590 sq mi)	322 km (200 mi)	84 m (276 ft)	2,750 km^3 (660 cu mi)		The largest lake by area in Africa.[17]
4	Huron[n 1]	Canada  United States	59,600 km^2 (23,000 sq mi)[9]	332 km (206 mi)[9]	229 m (751 ft)[9]	3,540 km^3 (850 cu mi)[9]		Contains Manitoulin Island, the world's largest lake island.[18]
5	Michigan[n 1]	United States	58,000 km^2 (22,000 sq mi)[9]	494 km (307 mi)[9]	281 m (922 ft)[9]	4,900 km^3 (1,200 cu mi)[9]		Largest lake contained within one country.
6	Tanganyika	Burundi  Tanzania  Zambia  Democratic Republic of the Congo	32,600 km^2 (12,600 sq mi)	676 km (420 mi)	1,470 m (4,820 ft)	18,900 km^3 (4,500 cu mi)		Longest freshwater lake in the world.[19]
7	Baikal	Russia	31,500 km^2 (12,200 sq mi)	636 km (395 mi)	1,637 m (5,371 ft)	23,600 km^3 (5,700 cu mi)		Deepest lake in the world and largest volume freshwater lake in the world.[20]
8	Great Bear Lake	Canada	31,000 km^2 (12,000 sq mi)	373 km (232 mi)	446 m (1,463 ft)	2,236 km^3 (536 cu mi)		Largest lake entirely within Canada[21]
9	Malawi	Malawi  Mozambique  Tanzania	29,500 km^2 (11,400 sq mi)	579 km (360 mi)	706 m (2,316 ft)	8,400 km^3 (2,000 cu mi)
10	Great Slave Lake	Canada	27,000 km^2 (10,000 sq mi)	480 km (300 mi)	614 m (2,014 ft)	1,560 km^3 (370 cu mi)		Deepest lake in North America[22]
11	Erie	Canada  United States	25,700 km^2 (9,900 sq mi)[9]	388 km (241 mi)[9]	64 m (210 ft)[9]	489 km^3 (117 cu mi)[9]
12	Winnipeg	Canada	24,514 km^2 (9,465 sq mi)	425 km (264 mi)	36 m (118 ft)	283 km^3 (68 cu mi)
13	Ontario	Canada  United States	18,960 km^2 (7,320 sq mi)[9]	311 km (193 mi)[9]	244 m (801 ft)[9]	1,639 km^3 (393 cu mi)[9]
14	Ladoga	Russia	18,130 km^2 (7,000 sq mi)	219 km (136 mi)	230 m (750 ft)	908 km^3 (218 cu mi)		Largest lake in Europe[23]
15	Balkhash*	Kazakhstan	16,400 km^2 (6,300 sq mi)	605 km (376 mi)	26 m (85 ft)	106 km^3 (25 cu mi)
16	Vostok	Antarctica	12,500 km^2 (4,800 sq mi)	250 km (160 mi)	900–1,000 m (3,000–3,300 ft)	5,400 ± 1,600 km^3 (1,300 ± 380 cu mi)		Largest lake in Antarctica
17	Onega	Russia	9,720 km^2 (3,750 sq mi)	248 km (154 mi)	120 m (390 ft)	280 km^3 (67 cu mi)
18	Titicaca	Peru  Bolivia	8,372 km^2 (3,232 sq mi)	177 km (110 mi)	281 m (922 ft)	893 km^3 (214 cu mi)		Largest lake in South America. Has a smaller surface area than the world's largest man-made reservoir, Lake Volta, which has a surface area of 8,482 km^2 (3,275 sq mi).
19	Nicaragua	Nicaragua	8,264 km^2 (3,191 sq mi)	177 km (110 mi)	26 m (85 ft)	108 km^3 (26 cu mi)		Largest lake in Central America
20	Athabasca	Canada	7,850 km^2 (3,030 sq mi)	335 km (208 mi)	243 m (797 ft)	204 km^3 (49 cu mi)
21	Taymyr	Russia	6,990 km^2 (2,700 sq mi)	250 km (160 mi)	26 m (85 ft)	12.8 km^3 (3.1 cu mi)		Largest lake north of the Arctic Circle
22	Turkana*	Ethiopia  Kenya	6,405 km^2 (2,473 sq mi)	248 km (154 mi)	109 m (358 ft)	204 km^3 (49 cu mi)		It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake.[24]
23	Reindeer Lake	Canada	6,330 km^2 (2,440 sq mi)	245 km (152 mi)	337 m (1,106 ft)
24	Issyk-Kul*	Kyrgyzstan	6,200 km^2 (2,400 sq mi)	182 km (113 mi)	668 m (2,192 ft)	1,738 km^3 (417 cu mi)
25	Urmia*	Iran	6,001 km^2 (2,317 sq mi)	130 km (81 mi)	16 m (52 ft)
26	Vänern	Sweden	5,545 km^2 (2,141 sq mi)	140 km (87 mi)	106 m (348 ft)	153 km^3 (37 cu mi)		Largest lake in the European Union
27	Winnipegosis	Canada	5,403 km^2 (2,086 sq mi)	245 km (152 mi)	18 m (59 ft)
28	Albert	Uganda  Democratic Republic of the Congo	5,299 km^2 (2,046 sq mi)	161 km (100 mi)	58 m (190 ft)	280 km^3 (67 cu mi)
29	Mweru	Zambia  Democratic Republic of the Congo	5,120 km^2 (1,980 sq mi)	131 km (81 mi)	27 m (89 ft)	38 km^3 (9.1 cu mi)
30	Nettilling	Canada	5,066 km^2 (1,956 sq mi)	113 km (70 mi)	132 m (433 ft)			It is on Baffin Island and is the largest lake on an island.[25]
31	Sarygamysh Lake*	Uzbekistan  Turkmenistan	5,000 km^2 (1,900 sq mi)	125 km (78 mi)	40 m (130 ft)	12 km^3 (2.9 cu mi)
32	Nipigon	Canada	4,843 km^2 (1,870 sq mi)	116 km (72 mi)	165 m (541 ft)
33	Manitoba	Canada	4,706 km^2 (1,817 sq mi)	225 km (140 mi)	7 m (23 ft)
34	Great Salt Lake*	United States	4,662 km^2 (1,800 sq mi)	121 km (75 mi)	10 m (33 ft)
35	Qinghai Lake* (or Kokonor)	China	4,489 km^2 (1,733 sq mi) (2007)
36	Saimaa	Finland	≈ 4,400 km^2 (1,700 sq mi)		82 m (269 ft)	36 km^3 (8.6 cu mi)
37	Lake of the Woods	Canada  United States	4,350 km^2 (1,680 sq mi)	110 km (68 mi)	64 m (210 ft)
38	Khanka	China  Russia	4,190 km^2 (1,620 sq mi)	90 km (56 mi)	10.6 m (35 ft)

* denotes saline lake.

Source for the 20 largest lakes (and their areas):^[26]

This list excludes seasonal lakes such as Lake Eyre (max area 9500 km2) and Lake Torrens (max area 5745 km2).

See also

• List of lakes by volume
• List of lakes by depth
• List of largest lakes of Europe
• Aral Sea, formerly the fourth largest lake in the world, with an area of 68,000 km² (26,300 sq mi)
• Lake Urmia, formerly the twenty-ninth largest lake in the world, with an area of 5,200 km² (2,000 sq mi)
• Lake Michigan-Huron

Notes and references

Note: Lake areas may slightly vary depending on the sources.

Notes

1. Although Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are usually considered distinct sometimes they are regarded as a single lake known as Lake Michigan–Huron. When treated as a single entity, it is the largest freshwater lake by surface area in the world, at 117,400 km² (45,300 sq mi).^{[12][13][14][15][16]}

References

1. Likens, Gene E., ed. (2009). "Historical Estimates of Limnicity". Encyclopedia of inland waters (1st ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier. ISBN 0120884623. Table 1: The world's lakes >2000 km² in area, arranged in decreasing order of lake area. See also Lakes (Formation, Diversity, Distribution)
2. Marsh, William M.; Martin M. Kaufman. Physical geography : great systems and global environments. Table 16.2: Great lakes of the world by lake type. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 399. ISBN 0521764289.
3. van der Leeden, Frits; Troise, Fred L.; Todd, David Keith, eds. (1991). The water encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Chelsea, Mich.: Lewis. pp. 198–200. ISBN 9780873711203.
4. "Plume over the Caspian Sea". NASA. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
5. "Caspian Sea". Britannica. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
6. "Endorheic Lakes". United Nations. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
7. DuMont, H.J. "The Caspian Lake: History, biota, structure, and function" (PDF). American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
8. Planet Earth And the New Geoscience (2003:154). Victor Schmidt, William Harbert, University of Pittsburgh
9. http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/atlas/gl-fact1.html Great Lakes Factsheet No. 1 US Environmental Protection Agency website retrieved September 9, 2012
10. "Great Lakes: Basic Information: Physical Facts". United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). May 25, 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-05-29. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
11. Superior Pursuit: facts about the Greatest Great Lake - Minnesota Sea Grant. University of Minnesota.
12. David Lees in Canadian Geographic writes, "Contrary to popular belief, the largest lake in the world is not Lake Superior but mighty Lake Michigan–Huron, which is a single hydrological unit linked at the Straits of Mackinac." Lees, David. "High and Dry" Canadian Geographic (May/June 2004) pp.94-108.
13. "Lakes Michigan and Huron are considered to be one lake hydraulically because of their connection through the deep Straits of Mackinac." Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Great Lakes Sensitivity to Climatic Forcing: Hydrological Models." NOAA, 2006.
14. "Lakes Michigan and Huron are considered to be one lake, as they rise and fall together due to their union at the Straits of Mackinac." U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, "Hydrological Components" Record Low Water Levels Expected on Lake Superior. August 2007. p.6
15. "Great Lakes Map". Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
16. "Largest Lake in the World". geology.com. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
17. "WorldAtlas.com: Lake Victoria". Retrieved 18 November 2015.
18. "Manitoulin Island website". Retrieved 23 November 2014.
19. "Lake Tanganyika at Encyclopaedia Britannica". Retrieved 23 November 2014.
20. "Lake Baikal, World's Largest Freshwater Body". Retrieved 23 November 2014.
21. "Plate 18. Large Lakes" (PDF). Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
22. "WorldAtlas.com: Great Slave Lake". Retrieved 23 November 2014.
23. "Freshwater Ecoregions of the World: Lake Ladoga". Retrieved 23 November 2014.
24. "Omo Valley in Ethiopia, Lake Turkana". Retrieved 23 November 2014.
25. "Lakes on Islands". Retrieved 23 November 2014.
26. "Largest Lakes (Area)". LakeNet. Retrieved 3 March 2013.

External links

• "Large Lakes of the World". FactMonster. Pearson Education.

Further reading

• Largest lakes of the former USSR, Water Quality Assessment of the Former Soviet Union (1998) ISBN 0419239200
• North America: Physical features, The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge (2011) ISBN 0312643020