This article lists lakes with a water volume of more than 100 km3, ranked by volume. The volume of a lake is a difficult quantity to measure.[1] Generally, the volume must be inferred from bathymetric data by integration. Lake volumes can also change dramatically over time and during the year, especially for salt lakes in arid climates. For these reasons, and because of changing research, information on lake volumes can vary considerably from source to source. The base data for this article are from The Water Encyclopedia (1990).[2] Where volume data from more recent surveys or other authoritative sources have been used, that usage is referenced in the respective entry. The total volume of Earth's lakes is 199,000 km3.[1]

The list

The volumes of the lakes below vary little by season. This list does not include reservoirs; if it did, six reservoirs would appear on the list: Lake Kariba at 26th, Bratsk Reservoir, Lake Volta, Lake Nasser, Manicouagan Reservoir, and Lake Guri.

Estuaries and lagoons are not included either. Examples: Lake Melville (estuary) and Lake Maracaibo (lagoon), comparable with Lagoa dos Patos.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (August 2008)
Continent color key
Africa Antarctica Asia Eurasia Europe North America South America
Name Country Region Surface area Water volume Salinity
Caspian Sea[3]

 Kazakhstan,  Turkmenistan,  Azerbaijan,  Russia,  Iran

Caspian endorheic basin 371,000 km2 (143,000 sq mi) 78,200 km3 (18,800 cu mi) 1.2%
Baikal[4]

 Russia

Southern Siberia 31,722 km2 (12,248 sq mi) 23,610 km3 (5,660 cu mi) Fresh
Tanganyika

 Tanzania,  Democratic Republic of the Congo,  Burundi,  Zambia

African Great Lakes 32,900 km2 (12,700 sq mi) 18,750 km3 (4,500 cu mi) Fresh
Superior

 Canada,  United States

North American Great Lakes 82,100 km2 (31,700 sq mi) 12,070 km3 (2,900 cu mi) Fresh
Malawi

 Malawi,  Mozambique,  Tanzania

African Great Lakes 29,600 km2 (11,400 sq mi) 8,640 km3 (2,070 cu mi) Fresh
Vostok

 Antarctica

Under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet 12,500 km2 (4,800 sq mi) 5,400±1,600 km3 (~1,300 cu mi) Fresh
Michigan[n 1]

 United States

North American Great Lakes 58,030 km2 (22,410 sq mi) 4,930 km3 (1,180 cu mi) Fresh
Huron[n 1]

 Canada,  United States

North American Great Lakes 59,590 km2 (23,010 sq mi) 3,520 km3 (840 cu mi) Fresh
Victoria

 Tanzania,  Uganda,  Kenya

African Great Lakes 59,940 km2 (23,140 sq mi) 2,420 km3 (580 cu mi) Fresh
Great Bear[10]

 Canada

Northwest Territories 31,153 km2 (12,028 sq mi) 2,234 km3 (536 cu mi) Fresh
Issyk-Kul

 Kyrgyzstan

Tien Shan Mountains 6,236 km2 (2,408 sq mi) 1,736 km3 (416 cu mi) 0.6%
Ontario

 Canada,  United States

North American Great Lakes 18,970 km2 (7,320 sq mi) 1,631 km3 (391 cu mi) Fresh
Great Slave[11]

 Canada

Northwest Territories 27,200 km2 (10,500 sq mi) 1,115 km3 (268 cu mi) Fresh
Titicaca

 Peru,

 Bolivia

Puno Region (Peru) and La Paz Department (Bolivia) 8,372 km2 (3,232 sq mi) 896 km3 (215 cu mi) Fresh

Ladoga

 Russia

Leningrad Oblast, Republic of Karelia

17,700 km2 (6,800 sq mi)

837 km3 (201 cu mi) Fresh

General Carrera-Buenos Aires[12]

 Chile,

 Argentina

General Carrera Province (Chile) and Santa Cruz Province (Argentina)

1,850 km2 (710 sq mi)

740 km3 (180 cu mi) Fresh
Kivu

 Democratic Republic of the Congo,  Rwanda

African Great Lakes 2,700 km2 (1,000 sq mi) 648 km3 (155 cu mi) Fresh
Van[13]

 Turkey

Armenian Highlands 3,755 km2 (1,450 sq mi) 642 km3 (154 cu mi) 2.3%
Erie

 Canada,  United States

North American Great Lakes 25,667 km2 (9,910 sq mi) 488 km3 (117 cu mi) Fresh
Khövsgöl

 Mongolia

Nearby, Eastern Sayan Mountains 2,760 km2 (1,070 sq mi) 381 km3 (91 cu mi) Fresh
Winnipeg

 Canada

Manitoba

24,514 km2 (9,465 sq mi)

294 km3 (71 cu mi) Fresh
Onega

 Russia

Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast, Republic of Karelia 9,700 km2 (3,700 sq mi) 291 km3 (70 cu mi) Fresh
Nipigon[14]

 Canada

Ontario 4,848 km2 (1,872 sq mi) 266 km3 (64 cu mi) Fresh
Toba[15]

 Indonesia

Sumatra 1,130 km2 (440 sq mi) 244 km3 (59 cu mi) Fresh

Nueltin[16]

 Canada

Nunavut and

Manitoba

2,279 km2 (880 sq mi)

228 km3 (55 cu mi)

Fresh
Argentino

 Argentina

Santa Cruz Province 1,466 km2 (566 sq mi) 220 km3 (53 cu mi) Fresh

Athabasca

 Canada

Saskatchewan and Alberta

7,850 km2 (3,030 sq mi)

204 km3 (49 cu mi) Fresh
Turkana

 Kenya,  Ethiopia

African Great Lakes 6,405 km2 (2,473 sq mi) 193 km3 (46 cu mi) 0.24%

Llanquihue

 Chile

Llanquihue Province and Osorno Province

860 km2 (330 sq mi)

158 km3 (38 cu mi) Fresh
Vänern

 Sweden

Västergötland, Dalsland, Värmland 5,650 km2 (2,180 sq mi) 153 km3 (37 cu mi) Fresh
Tahoe

 United States

California and Nevada 490 km2 (190 sq mi) 151 km3 (36 cu mi) Fresh

Mistassini[16]

 Canada

Quebec 2,164 km2 (836 sq mi) 150 km3 (36 cu mi) Fresh
Albert

 Uganda,  Democratic Republic of the Congo

African Great Lakes 5,300 km2 (2,000 sq mi) 133 km3 (32 cu mi) Fresh

Nettilling

 Canada

Nunavut, (Baffin Island)

5,542 km2 (2,140 sq mi)

130 km3 (31 cu mi) Fresh

Fagnano

 Argentina,  Chile

Tierra del Fuego

645 km2 (249 sq mi)

125 km3 (30 cu mi) Fresh

Viedma

 Argentina

Santa Cruz Province

1,193 km2 (461 sq mi)

119 km3 (29 cu mi) Fresh
Iliamna

 United States

Alaska 2,622 km2 (1,012 sq mi) 116 km3 (28 cu mi) Fresh

Dead Sea

 Jordan,  Palestine,  Israel

Southern District, West Bank, Balqa Governorate, Madaba Governorate and Karak Governorate

605 km2 (234 sq mi)

114 km3 (27 cu mi) (decreasing)

34% (increasing)

Baker[16]

 Canada

Nunavut

1,887 km2 (729 sq mi)

113 km3 (27 cu mi)

Fresh

Reindeer

 Canada

Saskatchewan and Manitoba

6,650 km2 (2,570 sq mi)

113 km3 (27 cu mi) Fresh
Nicaragua

 Nicaragua

Rivas Department, Granada Department and Río San Juan Department 8,264 km2 (3,191 sq mi) 110 km3 (26 cu mi) Fresh

Qinghai[16]

 China

Qinghai Province

4,583 km2 (1,770 sq mi)

108 km3 (26 cu mi) 1.4% (variable)

Balkhash

 Kazakhstan

Karaganda Region, Jambyl Region and Almaty Region

16,400 km2 (6,300 sq mi)

100 km3 (24 cu mi) (decreasing) 0.3% (variable)


In 1960, the Aral Sea was the world's twelfth-largest known lake by volume, at 1,100 km3 (260 cu mi). However, by 2007 it had shrunk to 10% of its original volume and was divided into three lakes, none of which are large enough to appear on this list.[17]

By continent

See also

Notes and references

Notes

  1. ^ a b Although Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are usually considered distinct, they are sometimes regarded as a single lake known as Lake Michigan–Huron. When treated as a single entity, it is the fourth largest freshwater lake by volume, at 8,443 km3 (2,026 cu mi).[5][6][7][8][9]

References

  1. ^ a b Cael, B. B.; Heathcote, A. J.; Seekell, D. A. (2017). "The volume and mean depth of Earth's lakes". Geophysical Research Letters. 44 (1): 209–218. Bibcode:2017GeoRL..44..209C. doi:10.1002/2016GL071378. hdl:1912/8822. ISSN 1944-8007. S2CID 132520745.
  2. ^ van der Leeden; Troise; Todd (1990), The Water Encyclopedia (2nd ed.), Chelsea, MI: Lewis Publishers, pp. 198–200, ISBN 9780873711203
  3. ^ The Caspian Sea is generally regarded by geographers, biologists and limnologists as a huge inland salt lake. It is endorheic (having no outlet), and can be compared to other large (but still much smaller) endorheic salt lakes, such as the Aral Sea, Great Salt Lake and Lake Van. However, the Caspian's large size means that for some purposes it is better modeled as a sea. Geologically, the Caspian, Black, and Mediterranean seas are remnants of the ancient Tethys Ocean. Politically, the distinction between a sea and a lake may affect how the Caspian is treated by international law.
  4. ^ Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake by volume.
  5. ^ Which Lake is the World's Largest?
  6. ^ "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 Archived 2010-08-08 at the Wayback Machine." NOAA, 2006.
  7. ^ "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 Archived 2008-10-15 at the Wayback Machine. August 2007. p.6
  8. ^ "Great Lakes Map". Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  9. ^ "Largest Lake in the World". geology.com. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
  10. ^ Hebert, Paul (2007), "Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories", Encyclopedia of Earth, Washington, DC: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment, retrieved 2007-12-07
  11. ^ "Search – The Encyclopedia of Earth". www.eoearth.org.
  12. ^ Murdie, Ruth E.; Pugh, David T.; Styles, Peter; Muñoz, Miguel (1999), "Heatflow, Temperature and Bathymetry of Lago General Carrera and Lago Cochrane, Southern Chile" (PDF), Extended Extracts of the Fourth International Symposium on Andean Geodynamics, Gottingen, Germany 04-06/10/1999, Paris: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, pp. 539–542
  13. ^ Degens, E.T.; Wong, H.K.; Kempe, S.; Kurtman, F. (June 1984), "A geological study of Lake Van, eastern Turkey", International Journal of Earth Sciences, 73 (2), Springer: 701-734, Bibcode:1984GeoRu..73..701D, doi:10.1007/BF01824978, S2CID 128628465
  14. ^ "Lake Nipigon". World Lake Database. International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  15. ^ Although some parts of Indonesia are often regarded as belonging to Oceania, Sumatra and Lake Toba are generally placed in Asia.
  16. ^ a b c d Walter K. Dodds; Matt R. Whiles (23 September 2010). Freshwater Ecology: Concepts and Environmental Applications of Limnology. Academic Press. pp. 141–142. ISBN 978-0-12-374724-2. Retrieved 22 February 2012.
  17. ^ Philip Micklin; Nikolay V. Aladin (March 2008). "Reclaiming the Aral Sea". Scientific American. Retrieved 2008-05-17.((cite news)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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