List of lakes by volume

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.

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: Buryatia and Irkutsk Oblast	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 and 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 the 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, Vologda Oblast and 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
Concordia	Antarctica	Antarctic Plateau	800 km² (310 sq mi)	200 km³ (48 cu mi) + or - 40 km³ (9.6 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

Africa: Tanganyika
Antarctica: Vostok
Asia: Baikal
Eurasia: Caspian Sea
Europe: Ladoga
North America: Superior
Oceania: Taupō
- Australia: Eyre, native designation: Kati Thanda
South America: Titicaca

Notes and references

Notes

^ ^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

^ ^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.
^ van der Leeden; Troise; Todd (1990), The Water Encyclopedia (2nd ed.), Chelsea, MI: Lewis Publishers, pp. 198–200, ISBN 9780873711203
^ 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.
^ Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake by volume.
^ Which Lake is the World's Largest?
^ "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.
^ "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
^ "Great Lakes Map". Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
^ "Largest Lake in the World". geology.com. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
^ 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
^ "Search – The Encyclopedia of Earth". www.eoearth.org.
^ 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
^ 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
^ "Lake Nipigon". World Lake Database. International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
^ Although some parts of Indonesia are often regarded as belonging to Oceania, Sumatra and Lake Toba are generally placed in Asia.
^ ^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.
^ 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)

[longest-10] 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]

[:0-1] 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

[Caspian-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

[DEQ-8] "Great Lakes Map". Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved 20 September 2012.

[geologydotcom-9] "Largest Lake in the World". geology.com. Retrieved 28 September 2012.

[EofEarth-11] 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

[12] "Search – The Encyclopedia of Earth". www.eoearth.org.

[MurdieEtAl_1999-13] 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

[Degens_1984-14] 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

[Nipigon-15] "Lake Nipigon". World Lake Database. International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2014.

[Toba-16] Although some parts of Indonesia are often regarded as belonging to Oceania, Sumatra and Lake Toba are generally placed in Asia.

[DoddsWhiles2010-17] 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.

[sciam-18] 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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