List of lakes by area

This is a pair of lists of terrestrial lakes with a surface area of more than approximately 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi), ranked by area, excluding reservoirs and lagoons.

The area of some lakes can vary considerably over time, either seasonally or from year to year. This is especially true of salt lakes in arid climates. This list therefore excludes seasonal lakes such as Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre (maximum area 9,500 km², 3,700 sq mi), Mar Chiquita Lake (Córdoba) (maximum area 6,000 km², 2,300 sq mi), Lake Torrens (maximum area 5,745 km², 2,218 sq mi) and Great Salt Lake (maximum area, 1988, 8,500 km², 3,300 sq mi).

The list is divided in two: all lakes as conventionally defined down to 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi), and the largest lakes under a geological definition, where the Caspian Sea is considered a small ocean rather than a lake, and Lake Michigan–Huron (or "Huron–Michigan") is recognized as a single body of water. The Caspian Sea is conventionally considered the world's largest lake, but it is centered on an oceanic basin (a fragment of the ancient Tethys Ocean) rather than lying entirely over continental crust as all other lakes do. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are conventionally counted as separate lakes, but hydrologically they are a single body of water, which is the world's largest lake by surface area.

Conventional list

Following are conventionally identified lakes larger than 3,000 km² (1,200 sq mi) in area.

Source for the 20 largest lakes (and their areas):

Geological list

Following are the dozen largest lakes under geological definitions, down to 17,500 km² (6,800 sq mi) in area.

See also

• List of lakes by volume
• List of lakes by depth
• List of largest lakes of Europe
• Recursive islands and lakes
• Aral Sea, formerly the third largest lake in the world, with an area of 68,000 km² (26,300 sq mi)
• Lake Chad, formerly the eleventh largest lake in the world, with an area of 26,000 km² (10,000 sq mi)
• Lake Urmia, formerly with an area of 5,200 km² (2,000 sq mi), but down to a tenth that size in 2017. It has since increased in area under a restoration project.
• List of largest lagoons
• List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System

Notes and references

Note: Lake areas may slightly vary depending on the sources.

Notes

References

Further reading

• Largest lakes of the former USSR, Water Quality Assessment of the Former Soviet Union (1998). ISBN 0419239200.
• North America: Physical features, The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge (2011). ISBN 0312643020.

External links

• "Large Lakes of the World". FactMonster. Pearson Education.

1. List of largest lakes of the United States by area
2. List of lakes by depth
3. List of largest lakes of Europe
4. List of lakes by volume
5. List of U.S. states and territories by area
6. List of countries and dependencies by area
7. List of lakes of Canada
8. African Great Lakes
9. List of lakes
10. Recursive islands and lakes
11. List of lakes of Michigan
12. List of lakes of Switzerland
13. Metropolitan statistical area
14. List of lakes of Japan
15. List of lakes of Oregon
16. List of lakes and lochs of the United Kingdom
17. List of islands by area
18. List of lakes of Tanzania
19. List of United States cities by area
20. List of North American Numbering Plan area codes