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Lakes with a surface area of more than 4,000 km², listed by area.
''Note: 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

The list

By continent

Notes

See also

Sources

The list

Continent colour key Africa Asia Europe North America Australia South America

	Name and location	Area sq. mi.	Area km²	Length mi.	Length km	Max-depth ft.	Max-depth m	Water volume mi³	Water volume km³	Thumbnail (same scale for all lakes) Scale outline.png
1.	Caspian Sea ★ ,[1] Azerbaijan-Russia-Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan-Iran	143,250	371,000	745	1,199	3,363	1,025	18,761	78,200	Caspian outline.gif
2.	Michigan-Huron,[2] Canada - U.S	45,410	117,702	440	710	923	282	2,030	8,458	Michigan-huron outline.gif
3.	Superior, Canada - U.S	31,820	82,414	383	616	1,333	406	2,903	12,100	Superior outline.gif
4.	Victoria, Kenya-Tanzania-Uganda	26,829	69,485	200	322	276	84	660	2,750	Victoria outline.gif
5.	Tanganyika, Tanzania-DRC-Burundi-Zambia	12,700	32,893	420	676	4,823	1,470	4,536	18,900	Tanganyika outline.gif
6.	Baikal,[3] Russia	12,162	31,500	395	636	5,369	1,637	5,521	23,600	Baikal outline.gif
7.	Great Bear Lake, Canada	12,000	31,080	232	373	1,463	446	536	2,236	Great bear outline.gif
8.	Malawi, Malawi-Mozambique-Tanzania	11,600	30,044	360	579	2,316	706	2,016	8,400	Nyasa outline.gif
9.	Great Slave Lake, Canada	11,170	28,930	298	480	2,014	614	502	2,090	Great slave outline.gif
10.	Erie, Canada - U.S	9,930	25,719	241	388	210	64	117	489	Erie outline.gif
11.	Winnipeg, Canada	9,094	23,553	264	425	118	36	68	283	Winnipeg outline.gif
12.	Ontario, Canada - U.S	7,520	19,477	193	311	802	244	393	1,639	Ontario outline.gif
13.	Balkhash ★ , Kazakhstan	7,115	18,428	376	605	85	26	26	106	Balkhash outline.gif
14.	Ladoga, Russia	7,000	18,130	136	219	755	230	218	908	Ladoga outline.gif
15.	Aral Sea ★ ,[4] Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan	6,625	17,160	266	428					Aral outline.gif
16.	Maracaibo, Venezuela	5,135	13,300
17.	Tonlé Sap, Cambodia	3,861	10,000[5]
18.	Onega, Russia	3,819	9,891	154	248	394	120	67	280	Onega outline.gif
19.	Titicaca, Bolivia-Peru	3,141	8,135	110	177	922	281	214	893	Titicaca outline.gif
20.	Lake Nicaragua, Nicaragua	3,089	8,001	110	177	85	26			Nicaragua outline.gif
21.	Athabasca, Canada	3,058	7,920	208	335	797	243	49	204	Athabasca outline.gif
22.	Turkana ★ , Kenya	2,473	6,405	154	248	358	109	49	204	Turkana outline.gif
23.	Reindeer Lake, Canada	2,444	6,330	152	245	1,106	337			Reindeer outline.gif
24.	Eyre ★ , South Australia	2,400[6]	6,216	130	209					Eyre outline.gif
25.	Issyk-Kul ★ , Kyrgyzstan	2,394	6,200	113	182	2,192	668	417	1,738	Issyk-kul outline.gif
26.	Urmia ★ , Iran	2,317	6,001	81	130	52	16			Urmia outline.gif
27.	Dongting, China	2,316	6,000[7]
28.	Torrens ★ , South Australia	2,200	5,698	130	209					Torrens outline.gif
29.	Vänern, Sweden	2,141	5,545	87	140	348	106	37	153	Vänern outline.gif
30.	Winnipegosis, Canada	2,086	5,403	152	245					Winnipegosis outline.gif
31.	Albert, Uganda, Zaire	2,046	5,299	100	161	190	58	67	280	Albert outline.gif
32.	Mweru, DR Congo, Zambia	1,977	5,120	81	131	89	27	9	38
33.	Nettilling, Baffin Island, Canada	1,950	5,051	70	113					Nettilling outline.gif
34.	Nipigon, Canada	1,870	4,843	72	116	540	165			Nipigon outline.gif
35.	Manitoba, Canada	1,817	4,706	140	225					Manitoba outline.gif
36.	Great Salt Lake ★ , U.S.	1,800	4,662	75	121					Great salt outline.gif

★ denotes saline lake

By continent

★ 'Africa' - Lake Victoria

★ 'Antarctica' - Lake Vostok (Subglacial lake)

★ 'Asia' - Salt: Caspian Sea - Fresh: Lake Baikal

★ 'Australia' - Lake Eyre

★ 'Central America' - Lake Nicaragua (second largest in Latin America, first in Central America)

★ 'Europe' - Lake Ladoga

★ 'North America' - Lake Michigan-Huron

★ 'South America' - Brackish: Lake Maracaibo - Fresh: Lake Titicaca

Notes

''Note: Lake areas may slightly vary depending on the sources.''
1. The salty Caspian Sea is considered a lake because it is land-locked.
2. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron form one hydrological unit; their surfaces are at the same elevation, the channel separating them is 40m deep and 8km across, and the direction of water flow between them often reverses direction.
3. Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake by volume.
4. In 1960, the Aral Sea was the world's fourth-largest lake, with an area of approximately 68,000 km²; by 1998, it had dropped to 28,687 km², and eighth-largest, it is currently the 15th largest.
5. The area of Tonlé Sap varies anywhere from 3,000 km² to 30,000 km².
6. Varies with the rainfall of the wet season. It has been reported to dry up almost completely on occasion.
7. The area of Dongting Lake varies seasonally anywhere from 4,000 km² to 12,000 km².

See also

★ List of lakes by depth

★ List of lakes by volume

★ List of largest lakes of Europe

Sources

★ Factmonster.com

★ van der Leeden, Troise, and Todd, eds., The Water Encyclopedia. Second Edition. Chelsea, MI: Lewis Publishers, 1990. pp. 198-200.