List of lakes by areaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia"Largest lakes" redirects here. For the largest lakes by volume, seeList of lakes by volume.This is a list of terrestriallakeswith a surface area of more than 4,000 square kilometres (1,500sqmi), ranked byarea.[1][2][3]This list does not includereservoirsandlagoons.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.Contents[hide] 1List of lakes 1.1Oceanic lakes 1.2Continental lakes 2See also 3Notes and references 4External links 5Further readingList of lakes[edit]This list isincomplete; you can help byexpanding it.Continentcolor key

AfricaAsiaEuropeNorth AmericaSouth AmericaAntarctica

Oceanic lakes[edit]The Caspian Sea is often regarded as the world's largest lake, but it contains anoceanic basin(contiguous with the world ocean until 11 million years ago) rather than being entirely over continental crust.[4][5][6][7][8]NameCountries with shorelineAreaLengthMaximum depthWater volumeThumbnail (same scale for all lakes)Notes

1Caspian Sea*KazakhstanRussiaTurkmenistanAzerbaijanIran371,000km2(143,000sqmi)1,199km (745mi)1,025m (3,363ft)78,200km3(18,800cumi)Variously considered the world's largest lake or a full-fledgedsea. Geologically, the south Caspian is a small ocean.[7][9]*Not includingGarabogazkl Aylagy.

Continental lakes[edit]NameCountries with shorelineAreaLengthMaximum depthWater volumeThumbnail (same scale for all lakes)Notes

2[n 1]SuperiorCanadaUnited States82,414km2(31,820sqmi)[10]616km (383mi)[10]406m (1,332ft)[10]12,100km3(2,900cumi)[10][n 1]

3VictoriaUgandaKenyaTanzania69,485km2(26,828sqmi)322km (200mi)84m (276ft)2,750km3(660cumi)The largest lake in Africa

4Huron[n 1]CanadaUnited States59,600km2(23,000sqmi)[10]332km (206mi)[10]229m (751ft)[10]3,540km3(850cumi)[10]ContainsManitoulin Island, the world's largest lake island[citation needed]

5Michigan[n 1]United States58,000km2(22,000sqmi)[10]494km (307mi)[10]281m (922ft)[10]4,900km3(1,200cumi)[10]Largest lake entirely within one country.

6TanganyikaBurundiTanzaniaZambiaDemocratic Republic of the Congo32,893km2(12,700sqmi)676km (420mi)1,470m (4,820ft)18,900km3(4,500cumi)Second deepest lake in the world. It is also the longest lake in the world.[citation needed]

7BaikalRussia31,500km2(12,200sqmi)636km (395mi)1,637m (5,371ft)23,600km3(5,700cumi)Deepest lake in the world. Largest volume fresh water lake in the world.

8Great Bear LakeCanada31,080km2(12,000sqmi)373km (232mi)446m (1,463ft)2,236km3(536cumi)Largest lake entirely within Canada

9MalawiTanzaniaMozambiqueMalawi30,044km2(11,600sqmi)579km (360mi)706m (2,316ft)8,400km3(2,000cumi)Second deepest lake in Africa.

10Great Slave LakeCanada28,930km2(11,170sqmi)480km (300mi)614m (2,014ft)2,090km3(500cumi)Deepest lake in North America

11ErieCanadaUnited States25,719km2(9,930sqmi)[10]388km (241mi)[10]64m (210ft)[10]489km3(117cumi)[10]

12WinnipegCanada23,553km2(9,094sqmi)425km (264mi)36m (118ft)283km3(68cumi)Located in Manitoba, it is the largest lake within a province.[citation needed]

13OntarioCanadaUnited States19,477km2(7,520sqmi)[10]311km (193mi)[10]244m (801ft)[10]1,639km3(393cumi)[10]

14Balkhash*Kazakhstan18,428km2(7,115sqmi)605km (376mi)26m (85ft)106km3(25cumi)

15LadogaRussia18,130km2(7,000sqmi)219km (136mi)230m (750ft)908km3(218cumi)Largest lake in Europe

16VostokAntarctica15,690km2(6,060sqmi)250km (160mi)9001,000m (3,0003,300ft)5,4001,600km3(1,300380cumi)Largest lake in Antarctica; also largestsubglacial lakein the world.

17OnegaRussia9,891km2(3,819sqmi)248km (154mi)120m (390ft)280km3(67cumi)Second l

18TiticacaPeruBolivia8,135km2(3,141sqmi)177km (110mi)281m (922ft)893km3(214cumi)Largest lake in South America ifLake Maracaibois discounted

19NicaraguaNicaragua8,001km2(3,089sqmi)177km (110mi)26m (85ft)108km3(26cumi)Largest lake in Central America

20AthabascaCanada7,920km2(3,060sqmi)335km (208mi)243m (797ft)204km3(49cumi)

21TaymyrRussia6,990km2(2,700sqmi)250km (160mi)26m (85ft)12.8km3(3.1cumi)Largest lake north of the Arctic Circle[citation needed]

22Turkana*EthiopiaKenya6,405km2(2,473sqmi)248km (154mi)109m (358ft)204km3(49cumi)It is the world's largest permanent desert lake and the world's largest alkaline lake.[citation needed]

23Reindeer LakeCanada6,330km2(2,440sqmi)245km (152mi)337m (1,106ft)

24Issyk-Kul*Kyrgyzstan6,200km2(2,400sqmi)182km (113mi)668m (2,192ft)1,738km3(417cumi)

25Urmia*Iran6,001km2(2,317sqmi)130km (81mi)16m (52ft)

26VnernSweden5,545km2(2,141sqmi)140km (87mi)106m (348ft)153km3(37cumi)The largest lake in theEU

27WinnipegosisCanada5,403km2(2,086sqmi)245km (152mi)18m (59ft)

28AlbertUgandaDemocratic Republic of the Congo5,299km2(2,046sqmi)161km (100mi)58m (190ft)280km3(67cumi)

29MweruZambiaDemocratic Republic of the Congo5,120km2(1,980sqmi)131km (81mi)27m (89ft)38km3(9.1cumi)

30NettillingCanada5,066km2(1,956sqmi)113km (70mi)132m (433ft)OnBaffin Island. Largest lake on an island.[citation needed]

31NipigonCanada4,843km2(1,870sqmi)116km (72mi)165m (541ft)

32ManitobaCanada4,706km2(1,817sqmi)225km (140mi)7m (23ft)

33Great Salt Lake*United States4,662km2(1,800sqmi)121km (75mi)10m (33ft)

34Qinghai Lake*China4,489km2(1,733sqmi) (2007)

35SaimaaFinland 4,400km2(1,700sqmi)82m (269ft)36km3(8.6cumi)Numerous basins; 14,000 islands, shoreline13,700km (8,500mi)

36Lake of the WoodsCanadaUnited States4,350km2(1,680sqmi)110km (68mi)64m (210ft)

37KhankaChinaRussia4,190km2(1,620sqmi)10.6m (35ft)

* denotessalinelake.Source for the 20 largest lakes (and their areas):[16]See also[edit] 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.Notes and references[edit]Note: Lake areas may slightly vary depending on the sources.Notes1. ^Jump up to:abcdAlthough Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are usually considered distinct sometimes they are regarded as a single lake known asLake MichiganHuron. When treated as a single entity, it is the largest freshwater lake by surface area in the world, at 117,400km2(45,300sqmi).[11][12][13][14][15]References1. Jump up^Likens, Gene E., ed. (2009). "Historical Estimates of Limnicity".Encyclopedia of inland waters(1st ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier.ISBN0120884623.Table 1: The world's lakes >2000 km2in area, arranged in decreasing order of lake area. See alsoLakes (Formation, Diversity, Distribution)2. Jump up^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.ISBN0521764289.3. Jump up^van der Leeden, Frits; Troise, Fred L.; Todd, David Keith, eds. (1991).The water encyclopedia(2nd ed.). Chelsea, Mich.: Lewis. pp.198200.ISBN9780873711203.4. Jump up^"Plume over the Caspian Sea". NASA. Retrieved 2010-11-29.5. Jump up^"Caspian Sea". Britannica. Retrieved 2010-11-29.6. Jump up^"Endorheic Lakes". United Nations. Retrieved 2010-11-29.7. ^Jump up to:abDuMont, H.J."The Caspian Lake: History, biota, structure, and function".American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. Retrieved 2010-11-29.8. Jump up^Planet Earth And the New Geoscience(2003:154). Victor Schmidt, William Harbert, University of Pittsburgh9. Jump up^Jan Golonka (2000) "Geodynamic Evolution of the South Caspian Basin". In Yilmaz, Isaksen, & AAP, eds.,Oil and Gas of the Greater Caspian Area.