The Great Lakes are among the largest lakes in the United States but who can tell me what Great lake is the largest, or are they the largest in the world? On looking at this list of largest lakes in the world you should perhaps know three things, firstly, although the Caspian Sea was so named by the Romans because it was salty, most geographers consider it a lake because it is land locked. Secondly, some people refer to Lake Michigan-Huron as one lake but I have taken them as two separate lakes. Lastly, a lakes size can be measured in ways, volume of water that it holds or by area and for the purposes of this list I have used the average area. Here is the list of the top 10 largest lakes in the world.
10
Malawi – Malawi/Mozambique-/Tanzania – 30,044 km2 (11,600 sq mi)
This lake is sometimes called Lake Nyasa and as it is a salt lake in an arid climate, its area can alter greatly between seasons and even though it is tenth on this list, it is still impressive.
9
Great Bear Lake – Canada – 31,080 km2 (12,000 sq mi)
Although the size of this lake is very impressive, there is only one community that lives at the lake side and that is Deline on the southwest end of the lake.
8
Baikal – Russia – 31,500 km2 (12,200 sq mi)
Located in a Rift Zone, an area where two parts of the earth’s crust pull apart, this lake is very deep and with a depth reaching 5,387 feet; it is the deepest lake in the world.
7
Tanganyika – Tanzania/Congo – 32,893 km2 (12,700 sq mi)
Due to its depth being an impressive 4,708 feet, it is the second largest lake, by volume, in the world and as the Caspian Sea is salty, it is the largest fresh water lake in the world.
6
Aral – Kazakhstan/Uzbekistan – 33,670km2 (13,000 sq mi)
Not only is this lake a lot smaller by area, than those above it on the list but it is also shallower with a depth of only 233 feet.
5
Michigan – U.S. – 58,000 km2 (22,000 sq mi)
This is the third largest of the great lakes but still impressive with a depth of 931 feet.
4
Huron – U.S.-Canada – 59,600 km2 (23,000 sq mi)
With a depth of 750 feet, this lake is considerably larger, by volume, than Lake Victoria.
3
Victoria – Tanzania/Uganda – 69,485 km2 (26,828 sq mi)
This is Africa’s largest lake by area but is only the eighth largest lake in the world by volume, owing to it only being 250 feet deep.
2
Superior – U.S.-Canada – 82,414 km2 (31,820 sq mi)
With a maximum depth of 1,336 feet, this lake holds enough water to cover with one foot of water, the whole of South and North America.
1
Caspian Sea – Azerbaijan/Russia/Kazakhstan/Turkmenistan/Iran (salt water) – 371,000 km2 (143,000 sq mi)
This is the largest body of enclosed water on earth but with a depth of 3,104 feet it is not the deepest, that distinction goes to Lake Baikal.