The largest Lakes in the World by Area
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A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land, apart from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake.
There are about 1.4 million lakes on Earth with an area of 10 hectares (0.1 sq km) or more. Most of them are found in Canada, Scandinavia, and Siberia. Map below shows 1.4 million of these global lakes.
But according to satellite data, there are 117 million lakes to be found worldwide. These lakes covering almost 4% of the world’s land surface.
The Caspian Sea is the biggest lake in the world. The Caspian Sea spreads out over nearly 750 miles (1,200 km) from north to south, with an average width of 200 miles (320 km). It covers a region of around 149,200 square miles (386,400 square km) – bigger than the region of Japan.
Below is the map of the 25 largest lakes in the world by area created by slapitonamap.com.
World’s 25 Largest Lakes, by Area
The Caspian Sea the largest lake in the world, while Baikal lake is the deepest. Here a full run-down of these largest lakes by area:
| Rank | Lake Name | Surface Area | Water volume | Type | Countries on shoreline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Caspian Sea | 371000 km2 (143000 sq mi) | 78200 km3 (18800 cu mi) | Saline (1.2%) | Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Iran |
| 2 | Superior | 82100 km2 (31700 sq mi) | 11600 km3 (2800 cu mi) | Freshwater | Canada, Unties States |
| 3 | Victoria | 68800 km2 (26600 sq mi) | 2700 km3 (650 cu mi) | Freshwater | Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania |
| 4 | Huron | 59600 km2 (23000 sq mi) | 3540 km3 (850 cu mi) | Freshwater | Canada, Unties States |
| 5 | Michigan | 58000 km2 (22000 sq mi) | 4920 km3 (1180 cu mi) | Freshwater | United States |
| 6 | Tanganyika | 32900 km2 (12700 sq mi) | 18900 km3 (4500 cu mi) | Freshwater | Burundi, Tanzania, Zambia, D.R.C. |
| 7 | Baikal | 31722 km2 (12248 sq mi) | 23600 km3 (5700 cu mi) | Freshwater | Russia |
| 8 | Great Bear Lake | 31153 km2 (12028 sq mi) | 2236 km3 (536 cu mi) | Freshwater | Canada |
| 9 | Malawi | 29600 km2 (11400 sq mi) | 7725 km3 (1853 cu mi) | Freshwater | Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania |
| 10 | Great Slave Lake | 27200 km2 (10500 sq mi) | 1580 km3 (380 cu mi) | Freshwater | Canada |
| 11 | Erie | 25667 km2 (9910 sq mi) | 480 km3 (120 cu mi) | Freshwater | Canada, Unties States |
| 12 | Winnipeg | 24514 km2 (9465 sq mi) | 284 km3 (68 cu mi) | Freshwater | Canada |
| 13 | Ontario | 18960 km2 (7320 sq mi) | 1710 km3 (410 cu mi) | Freshwater | Canada, Unties States |
| 14 | Ladoga | 17700 km2 (6800 sq mi) | 908 km3 (218 cu mi) | Freshwater | Russia |
| 15 | Balkhash | 16400 km2 (6300 sq mi) | 112 km3 (27 cu mi) | Saline (0.3%) | Kazakhstan |
| 16 | Vostok | 15690 km2 (6060 sq mi) | 6200 km³ (~1300 cu mi) | Freshwater | Antarctica |
| 17 | Onega | 9700 km2 (3700 sq mi) | 295 km3 (71 cu mi) | Freshwater | Russia |
| 18 | Titicaca | 8372 km2 (3232 sq mi) | 893 km3 (214 cu mi) | Freshwater | Bolivia, Peru |
| 19 | Nicaragua | 8264 km2 (3191 sq mi) | 108 km3 (26 cu mi) | Freshwater | Nicaragua |
| 20 | Athabasca | 7850 km2 (3030 sq mi) | 110 km3 (26 cu mi) | Freshwater | Canada |
| 21 | Turkana | 6405 km2 (2473 sq mi) | 204 km3 (49 cu mi) | Saline (0.24%) | Kenya, Ethiopia |
| 22 | Issyk-Kul | 6236 km2 (2408 sq mi) | 1730 km3 (420 cu mi) | Saline (0.6%) | Kyrgyzstan |
| 23 | Reindeer Lake | 5650 km2 (2180 sq mi) | 95.25 km3 (22.85 cu mi) | Freshwater | Canada |
| 24 | Urmia | 5200 km2 (2000 sq mi) | 2.5 km3 (0.6 cu mi) | Saline (18%) | Iran |
| 25 | Taymyr | 4560 km2 (1760 sq mi) | 12.8 km3 (3.1 cu mi) | Freshwater | Russia |
Interestingly, in the 19th century, a map of the largest lakes looked like this. Here is Humboldt’s Atlas of the biggest lakes created in 1951.
World’s largest lakes on a uniform scale (1851)
Humboldt mistakenly thought the Black Sea was a lake. Lake Victoria is missing on the map because the first European to see Lake Victoria arrived in 1858.
If you’re interested in learning more about lakes, consider the following books:
Related posts:
– The World’s 100 Largest Islands, Side by Side
– The largest to the smallest landmasses in the world mapped
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Map of the Caspian Sea and Caspian drainage
Veeeery depressing, Aral didnt make in this list.
This is only 24 since Huron/Michigan are really a single lake.
As a Michigan resident, this is really fascinating to compare our Great Lakes to the largest 25. Great visual to compare them.