There are a few different ways to define the world’s largest lake. Are you interested in the lake with the largest surface area? Or, the lake with the greatest water volume? And, do you want to consider saltwater seas in your comparison? “Which lake is the world’s largest?” is not a simple question to answer. So, we will explore the question from a few different perspectives
| Rank | Lake Name | Surface Area/km² | Type |
| 1 | Caspian Sea | 143,000 sq mi (371,000km²) (371,000km²) | Saline |
| 2 | Superior | 31,700 sq mi (82,100km²) | Freshwater |
| 3 | Victoria | 26,590 sq mi (68,870km²) | Freshwater |
| 4 | Huron | 23,000 sq mi (59,600km²) | Freshwater |
| 5 | Michigan | 22,000 sq mi (58,000km²) | Freshwater |
| 6 | Tanganyika | 12,600 sq mi (32,600km²) | Freshwater |
| 7 | Baikal | 12,200 sq mi (31,500km²) | Freshwater |
| 8 | Great Bear Lake | 12,000 sq mi (31,000km²) | Freshwater |
| 9 | Malawi | 11,400 sq mi (29,500km²) | Freshwater |
| 10 | Great Slave Lake | 10,000 sq mi (27,000km²) | Freshwater |
| 11 | Erie | 9,900 sq mi (25,700km²) | Freshwater |
| 12 | Winnipeg | 9,465 sq mi (24,514km²) | Freshwater |
| 13 | Ontario | 7,320 sq mi (18,960km²) | Freshwater |
| 14 | Ladoga | 7,000 sq mi(18,130km²) | Freshwater |
| 15 | Balkhash | 6,300 sq mi(16,400km²) | Saline |
| 16 | Vostok | 4,800 sq mi(12,500km²) | Freshwater |
| 17 | Onega | 3,700 sq mi(9,700km²) | Freshwater |
| 18 | Titicaca | 3,232 sq mi(8,372km²) | Freshwater |
| 19 | Nicaragua | 3,191 sq mi(8,264km²) | Freshwater |
| 20 | Athabasca | 3,030 sq mi (7,850km²) | Freshwater |
Largest Lake in the World ( Largest, Smallest, Biggest, Deepest )
The Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland body of water, described as the world’s largest lake, almost 5 times larger than its nearest rival, Lake Superior. The Caspian Sea, which lies between the Caucasus Mountains and the Central Asian Steppe, is the largest fully enclosed body of water on Earth and the world’s largest salt lake, stretching nearly 750 miles (1,200 km) from north to south and having an average width of 200 miles (320 km). The northern third of the Caspian is remarkably shallow, with an average depth of about 20 feet (6 meters). But the southernmost third plunges down to an average depth of about 1,000 feet (300 meters). Commercial fishing and tourism to the Caspian shore play a vital role in the economies of the surrounding countries. Large quantities of oil and natural gas are also extracted from the Caspian seabed via offshore rigs.
Area: 371,000 km²
Mean depth: 187 m
Length: 1,030 km
Inflow source: Volga River, Ural River, Mtkvari, Terek River
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake and the second largest lake in the world by surface area. This body of water was formed some 1.2 billion years ago through the North American Mid-Continent Rift, which almost caused the North American continent to split apart. Luckily for us, the rift failed to produce an oceanic basin and instead produced a freshwater lake that we now refer to as Lake Superior.
Area: 82,103 km²
Length: 563 km
Volume: 12,100 km³
Width: 257 km
Victoria
Lake Victoria is one of the African Great Lakes. Though having multiple local language names, the lake was renamed after Queen Victoria by the explorer John Hanning Speke, the first Briton to document it in 1858, while on an expedition with Richard Francis Burton. Lake Victoria plays a vital role in supporting the millions of people living around its shores, in one of the most densely populated regions on earth. Unfortunately, the introduction of invasive species (the Nile perch and the water hyancinth) and pollution on a massive scale have had a harmful effect on the lake’s ecology and biodiversity, as well as the amount of fish caught
Area: 68,800 km²
Length: 337 km
Width: 250 km
Inflow source: Kagera River
Huron Lake
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the easterly portion of Lake Michigan–Huron, having the same surface elevation as its westerly counterpart, to which it is connected by the 5-mile-wide, 20-fathom-deep Straits of Mackinac
Area: 59,600 km²
Length: 332 km
Width: 295 km
Volume: 3,543 km³
Michigan lake
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume and the third-largest by surface area, after Lake Superior and Lake Huron.
Area: 58,030 km²
Width: 190 km
Length: 494 km
Volume: 4,918 km³
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest, in all cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world’s longest freshwater lake
Length: 673 km
Area: 32,900 km²
Width: 72 km
Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal is an ancient, massive lake in the mountainous Russian region of Siberia, north of the Mongolian border. Considered the deepest lake in the world, it’s circled by a network of hiking paths called the Great Baikal Trail. The village of Listvyanka, on its western shoreline, is a popular starting point for summertime wildlife-spotting tours, plus wintertime ice-skating and dog sledding. Lake Baikal is located in southern Siberia, Russia. The Trans Siberian Railroad (TSR) runs just south of the lake and hugs along the rocky shores. Travelers on the TSR can take in spectacular views of the lake while also skirting the border of Mongolia. U
Area: 31,722 km²
Length: 636 km
Volume: 23,620 km³
Width: 80 km
Malawi Lake
Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. Spreading across Tanzania, Malawi, and Mozambique along Africa’s East Coast, Lake Malawi – also known as Lake Nyasa – is the third largest lake on the African continent. One of the African Great Lakes, sprawling Lake Malawi has many claims to fame.
Area: 29,600 km²
Length: 580 km
Surface elevation: 500 m
Width: 75 km
Outflow location: Shire
Great Slave Lake
Great Slave Lake is the 10th largest lake in the world. It is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada after Great Bear Lake. Great Slave Lake is also the deepest lake in North America. Its depth is 614 meters. In the world, it is the 12th largest lake by volume of water. Great Slave Lake, known traditionally as Tıdeè in Tłı̨chǫ Yatıì, Tinde’e in Wıìlıìdeh Yatii / Tetsǫ́t’ıné Yatıé, Tu Nedhé in Dëne Sųłıné Yatıé, and Tucho in Dehcho Dene Zhatıé, is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada, the deepest lake in North America at 614 metres, and the tenth-largest lake
Area: 27,200 km²
Length: 480 km
Surface elevation: 156 m
Width: 109 km
Inflow source: Slave River, Hay River, Yellowknife River, Taltson River, Snare River, Lockhart River.
FAQ (Important GK Questions on Lake (Largest, Smallest, Biggest, Deepest))
Que: Which one is the largest lake of the world?
Ans: The largest lake in the world by a long shot is the Caspian Sea – a name that hints at a past when it was contiguous with the ocean around 11 million years ago. This massive saline lake, which is nearly the same size as Japan, borders five countries: Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Iran
Que:What is world’s largest freshwater lake?
Ans: Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake by volume (23,600km3), containing 20% of the world’s fresh water. At 1,637m, it is the deepest freshwater lake in the world; the average depth is 758m. It is 636km long and 81km wide; the surface area is 31,494km2
Que: Is Lake Superior the largest lake in the world?
Ans: Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes and ranks as the second largest lake in the world (by surface area).
Que: Is the Black Sea a lake?
Ans: During the last of the great glaciations, the Black Sea became a large freshwater lake. The present connection to the Mediterranean Sea—and to salt water—is believed to have emerged some 6,500 to 7,500 years ago.
Que: Where is the deepest lake?
Ans: Lake Baikal, Russia. Lake Baikal, in Siberia, holds the distinction of being both the deepest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake, holding more than 20% of the unfrozen fresh water on the surface of Earth.
Que: What is the oldest lake in the world?
Ans: Lake Baikal, the world’s oldest and deepest freshwater lake, curves for nearly 400 miles through south-eastern Siberia, north of the Mongolian border. At its deepest point it is over 5,000 feet (1,637 meters) deep
Que: Which country has most lakes?
Ans: Canada has the most lakes of any country, but we know very little. Lakes are a vital part of our ecosystem, but it turns out, we take them for granted
Que: Why Dead sea is not a lake?
Ans: The Dead Sea is an endorheic lake located in the Jordan Rift Valley, a geographic feature formed by the Dead Sea Transform (DST). This left lateral-moving transform fault lies along the tectonic plate boundary between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate.
Que: Which is bigger a lake or river?
Ans: Conversely, rivers are bodies of water with land masses, or long stretches of land bordering their sides. Due to this, they are seen to be far longer than lakes.
Que: Which is the shallowest lake in the world?
Ans: Which lake is shallowest? Lake Erie. The fourth largest out of the five Great lakes, Erie is also the shallowest and the smallest in volume.