This is a list of terrestrial lakes with a surface area of more than approximately 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi), ranked by area.[1][2][3] This list does not include reservoirs or 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 excludes seasonal lakes such as Lake Eyre (maximum area 9,500 km², 3,700 sq mi), Mar Chiquita Lake (Córdoba) (maximum area 6,000 km², 2,300 sq mi), Lake Torrens (maximum area 5,745 km², 2,218 sq mi) and Great Salt Lake (maximum area, 1988, 8,500 km², 3,300 sq mi).

List of lakes

Thumbnail, at fixed scale		Name	Countries with shoreline	Type	Area	Length	Max. depth	Volume	Notes
	1	Caspian Sea[n 1]	Kazakhstan  Turkmenistan  Azerbaijan  Russia  Iran	Saline 1.2 %	371,000 km2 143,000 sq mi	1,199 km 745 mi	1,025 m 3,363 ft	78,200 km3 18,800 cu mi	Despite its name, it is often regarded as the world's largest lake, though 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	Canada  United States		82,100 km2 31,700 sq mi[9]	616 km 383 mi[9]	406 m 1,332 ft[9]	12,100 km3 2,900 cu mi[9]	Largest of the Great Lakes by volume, having more water than the other four combined.[10] The largest freshwater lake in the world by area.[11]
	3	Victoria	Tanzania  Uganda  Kenya		68,870 km2 26,590 sq mi	322 km 200 mi	84 m 276 ft	2,750 km3 660 cu mi	The largest lake by area in Africa.[12]
	4	Huron[n 2]	Canada  United States		59,600 km2 23,000 sq mi[9]	332 km 206 mi[9]	229 m 751 ft[9]	3,540 km3 850 cu mi[9]	Contains Manitoulin Island, the world's largest lake island.[18]
	5	Michigan[n 2]	United States		58,000 km2 22,000 sq mi[9]	494 km 307 mi[9]	281 m 922 ft[9]	4,900 km3 1,200 cu mi[9]	The largest lake (by area) that is located entirely in one country.
	6	Tanganyika	Tanzania  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Burundi  Zambia		32,600 km2 12,600 sq mi	676 km 420 mi	1,470 m 4,820 ft	18,900 km3 4,500 cu mi	Longest freshwater lake in the world and third largest of any kind by volume.[19]
	7	Baikal	Russia		31,500 km2 12,200 sq mi	636 km 395 mi	1,642 m 5,387 ft	23,600 km3 5,700 cu mi	Deepest lake in the world and largest freshwater lake in the world by volume.[20]
	8	Great Bear Lake	Canada		31,000 km2 12,000 sq mi	373 km 232 mi	446 m 1,463 ft	2,236 km3 536 cu mi	Largest lake entirely within Canada,[21] and the largest lake partially within the Arctic Circle
	9	Malawi	Malawi  Mozambique  Tanzania		29,500 km2 11,400 sq mi	579 km 360 mi	706 m 2,316 ft	8,400 km3 2,000 cu mi	Has more species of fish than any other lake in the world.[22]
	10	Great Slave Lake	Canada		27,000 km2 10,000 sq mi	480 km 300 mi	614 m 2,014 ft	1,560 km3 370 cu mi	Deepest lake in North America[23]
	11	Erie	Canada  United States		25,700 km2 9,900 sq mi[9]	388 km 241 mi[9]	64 m 210 ft[9]	489 km3 117 cu mi[9]	Got the smallest volume of the Great Lakes.
	12	Winnipeg	Canada		24,514 km2 9,465 sq mi	425 km 264 mi	36 m 118 ft	283 km3 68 cu mi	Very large catchment area compared to own size. No other great lake has that ratio.
	13	Ontario	Canada  United States		18,960 km2 7,320 sq mi[9]	311 km 193 mi[9]	244 m 801 ft[9]	1,639 km3 393 cu mi[9]	The lowest lying of the Great Lakes.
	14	Ladoga	Russia		18,130 km2 7,000 sq mi	219 km 136 mi	230 m 750 ft	908 km3 218 cu mi	Largest lake in Europe.[24]
	15	Balkhash	Kazakhstan	Saline 0.3 % (variable)	16,400 km2 6,300 sq mi	605 km 376 mi	26 m 85 ft	106 km3 25 cu mi	Fresh shallow western part. Salty deeper eastern part. Shrinking in size.
	16	Vostok	Antarctica		12,500 km2 4,800 sq mi	250 km 160 mi	900–1,000 m 3,000–3,300 ft	5,400 ± 1,600 km3 1,300 ± 380 cu mi	Largest lake in Antarctica, but subglacial.
	17	Onega	Russia		9,700 km2 3,700 sq mi	245 km 152 mi	127 m 417 ft	285 km3 68 cu mi	Second-largest lake in Europe.
	18	Titicaca	Peru  Bolivia		8,372 km2 3,232 sq mi	177 km 110 mi	281 m 922 ft	893 km3 214 cu mi	Highest navigable lake in the world. Greatest mountain lake too. Largest lake in South America.
	19	Nicaragua	Nicaragua		8,264 km2 3,191 sq mi	177 km 110 mi	26 m 85 ft	108 km3 26 cu mi	Largest lake in Central America. Contains fresh water sharks .
	20	Athabasca	Canada		7,850 km2 3,030 sq mi	335 km 208 mi	124 m 407 ft	204 km3 49 cu mi	A remnant of the vast, Glacial Lake McConnell.
	21	Turkana	Kenya  Ethiopia	Saline 0.25 % (approx.)	6,405 km2 2,473 sq mi	248 km 154 mi	109 m 358 ft	204 km3 49 cu mi	Largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake.[25]
	22	Reindeer	Canada		6,330 km2 2,440 sq mi	245 km 152 mi	219 m 719 ft	95.25 km3 22.85 cu mi	The deepest areas are the site of a large meteorite impact, for almost 100 million years ago. Much older than the lake.
	23	Issyk-Kul	Kyrgyzstan	Saline 0.6 %	6,200 km2 2,400 sq mi	182 km 113 mi	668 m 2,192 ft	1,738 km3 417 cu mi	Second largest mountain lake in the world. Second deepest saline lake as well.
	24	Vänern	Sweden		5,545 km2 2,141 sq mi	140 km 87 mi	106 m 348 ft	153 km3 37 cu mi	Largest lake in the European Union.
	25	Winnipegosis	Canada		5,370 km2 2,070 sq mi	245 km 152 mi	12 m 39 ft	17.2 km3 4.1 cu mi	Second largest lake in Manitoba.
	26	Albert	Uganda  Democratic Republic of the Congo		5,299 km2 2,046 sq mi	161 km 100 mi	51 m 167 ft	132 km3 32 cu mi	Located in the centre of Africa. The continents seventh largest lake.
	27	Mweru	Zambia  Democratic Republic of the Congo		5,120 km2 1,980 sq mi	131 km 81 mi	27 m 89 ft	38 km3 9.1 cu mi	The second largest lake in the Congo's drainage basin. Tanganyika being the largest.
	28	Nettilling	Canada		5,066 km2 1,956 sq mi	113 km 70 mi	132 m 433 ft	114 km3 27 cu mi	Largest lake on an island, namely Baffin Island.[26]
	29	Nipigon	Canada		4,843 km2 1,870 sq mi	116 km 72 mi	165 m 541 ft	248 km3 59 cu mi	Largest lake entirely in Ontario. Part of the Great Lake drainage basin. Often referred to as the, "sixth lake".
	30	Manitoba	Canada	Saline 0.35 %	4,706 km2 1,817 sq mi	225 km 140 mi	7 m 23 ft	14.1 km3 3.4 cu mi	A remnant of the prehistoric, Glacial Lake Agassiz together with: Winnipeg and Winnipegosis.
	31	Taymyr	Russia		4,560 km2 1,760 sq mi	250 km 160 mi	26 m 85 ft	12.8 km3 3.1 cu mi	Largest lake entirely within the Arctic Circle.
	32	Qinghai	China	Saline 1.4 % (variable)	4,489 km2 1,733 sq mi (2007)		32.8 m 108 ft	108 km3 26 cu mi	Largest lake in China. Variable in size. Endorheic basin.
	33	Saimaa	Finland		≈ 4,400 km2 1,700 sq mi		82 m 269 ft	36 km3 8.6 cu mi	Largest catchment area of the lakes, within the nordic countries.
	34	Lake of the Woods	Canada  United States		4,350 km2 1,680 sq mi	110 km 68 mi	64 m 210 ft	19.4 km3 4.7 cu mi	About 15 000 islands. The shoreline measures (included these) roughly: 105 000 km.
	35	Khanka	Russia  China		4,190 km2 1,620 sq mi	90 km 56 mi	10.6 m 35 ft	18.3 km3 4.4 cu mi	It has a shape like a pear. Variable size. Drains through the Amur River, that ends in the Sea of Japan.
	36	Sarygamysh	Turkmenistan  Uzbekistan	Saline 1.15 % (approx.)	3,955 km2 1,527 sq mi	125 km 78 mi	40 m 130 ft	68.56 km3 16.45 cu mi	It's located about midway between the Caspian Endorheic basin and former Aral Sea. No drainage river today. Drained centuries ago to the Caspian Sea (Uzboy River). Polluted.
	37	Dubawnt	Canada		3,833 km2 1,480 sq mi			91 km3 22 cu mi	Frozen surface 10 months each year. No permanent settlements on its shores.
	38	Van	Turkey	Saline 2.3 %	3,755 km2 1,450 sq mi	119 km 74 mi	451 m 1,480 ft	607 km3 146 cu mi	Largest lake in the Middle East. Third deepest saline lake.
	39	Peipus	Estonia  Russia		3,555 km2 1,373 sq mi		15.3 m 50 ft	25 km3 6.0 cu mi	Largest trans-boundary lake in Europe.
	40	Uvs	Mongolia  Russia	Saline 1.9 % (approx.)	3,350 km2 1,290 sq mi	84 km 52 mi	22 m 72 ft	20 km3 4.8 cu mi	Greatest lake in Mongolia (by area). Very large catchment area (endorheic).
	41	North Aral Sea	Kazakhstan		3,300 km2 1,300 sq mi		42 m 138 ft	28.7 km3 6.9 cu mi	Largest remnant of the former, Aral Sea. Once the world's fourth largest lake.
	42	Poyang	China		3,210 km2 1,240 sq mi	170 km 110 mi	25.1 m 82 ft	25.2 km3 6.0 cu mi	Largest freshwater lake in China. Variable size. Important location for the birdlife.
	43	Tana	Ethiopia		3,200 km2 1,200 sq mi	84 km 52 mi	15 m 49 ft	25.6 km3 6.1 cu mi	The source of the Blue Nile.
	44	Amadjuak	Canada		3,115 km2 1,203 sq mi			74 km3 18 cu mi	In geological terms, a "young" lake (approx. 4 500 years old). Second largest on Baffin Island. Third largest in Nunavut.
	45	Melville	Canada	Saline 1.95 % (approx. average of surface and bottom water)	3,069 km2 1,185 sq mi	140 km 87 mi	256 m 840 ft	313 km3 75 cu mi	Estuary connected with the Atlantic Ocean. Large drainage basin in the Labrador.
	46	Bangweulu	Zambia		3,000 km2 1,200 sq mi (permanent)	75 km 47 mi	10 m 33 ft	12 km3 2.9 cu mi	One of the world's great wetland systems. The area have swamps and floodplain. Variable size on this shallow lake. Crucial importance for animals and birds, of a far larger area.

Source for the 20 largest lakes (and their areas):[27]

See also

• List of lakes by volume
• List of lakes by depth
• List of largest lakes of Europe
• Recursive islands and lakes
• Aral Sea, formerly the fourth largest lake in the world, with an area of 68,000 km² (26,300 sq mi)
• Lake Chad, formerly the eleventh largest lake in the world, with an area of 26,000 km² (10,000 sq mi)
• Lake Michigan–Huron, the world's largest lake under a geological definition
• Lake Urmia, formerly the twenty-ninth largest lake in the world, with an area of 5,200 km² (2,000 sq mi)

Notes and references

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

Notes

References

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.

External links

• "Large Lakes of the World". FactMonster. Pearson Education.
• "The Largest Lakes on Each Continent". I Didnt Know This. All Wondrous Things.

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