List of lakes by volume explained
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). 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.
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.
| Name | Country | Region | Surface area | Water volume | Salinity |
|---|
| Caspian Sea[2] |  Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan,, | Caspian endorheic basin | 371000km2 | 78200km3 | 1.2% |
| Baikal[3] | | Southern Siberia | 31722km2 | 23610km3 | Fresh |
| Tanganyika | ,, Burundi, Zambia | African Great Lakes | 32900km2 | 18750km3 | Fresh |
| Superior |  Canada, United States | North American Great Lakes | 82100km2 | 12070km3 | Fresh |
| Malawi |  Malawi, Mozambique, | African Great Lakes | 29600km2 | 8640km3 | Fresh |
| Vostok | | Under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet | 12500km2 | 5,400±1,600 km3 (~1,300 cu mi) | Fresh |
| Michigan | United States | North American Great Lakes | 58030km2 | 4930km3 | Fresh |
| Huron | Canada, United States | North American Great Lakes | 59590km2 | 3520km3 | Fresh |
| Victoria | , Uganda, Kenya | African Great Lakes | 59940km2 | 2420km3 | Fresh |
| Great Bear | Canada | Northwest Territories | 31153km2 | 2234km3 | Fresh |
| Issyk-Kul |  Kyrgyzstan | Tien Shan Mountains | 6236km2 | 1736km3 | 0.6% |
| Ontario | Canada, United States | North American Great Lakes | 18970km2 | 1631km3 | Fresh |
| Great Slave[4] | Canada | Northwest Territories | 27200km2 | 1115km3 | Fresh |
| Titicaca |  Peru, | Puno Region (Peru) and La Paz Department (Bolivia) | 8372km2 | 896km3 | Fresh |
| Ladoga | | Leningrad Oblast, Republic of Karelia | 17700km2 | 837km3 | Fresh |
| General Carrera-Buenos Aires |  Chile, Argentina
| General Carrera Province (Chile) and Santa Cruz Province (Argentina) | 1850km2 | 740km3 | Fresh |
| Kivu | , Rwanda | African Great Lakes | 2700km2 | 648km3 | Fresh |
| Van |  Turkey | Armenian Highlands | 3755km2 | 642km3 | 2.3% |
| Erie | Canada, United States | North American Great Lakes | 25667km2 | 488km3 | Fresh |
| Khövsgöl |  Mongolia | Nearby, Eastern Sayan Mountains | 2760km2 | 381km3 | Fresh |
| Winnipeg | Canada | Manitoba | 24514km2 | 294km3 | Fresh |
| Onega | | Leningrad Oblast and Vologda Oblast, Republic of Karelia | 9700km2 | 291km3 | Fresh |
| Nipigon[5] | Canada | Ontario | 4848km2 | 266km3 | Fresh |
| Toba[6] |  Indonesia | Sumatra | 1130km2 | 244km3 | Fresh |
| Nueltin[7] | Canada | Nunavut andManitoba | 2279km2 | 228km3 | Fresh |
| Argentino | Argentina | Santa Cruz Province | 1466km2 | 220km3 | Fresh |
| Athabasca | Canada | Saskatchewan and Alberta | 7850km2 | 204km3 | Fresh |
| Turkana | Kenya, Ethiopia | African Great Lakes | 6405km2 | 193km3 | 0.24% |
| Llanquihue | Chile | Llanquihue Province and Osorno Province | 860km2 | 158km3 | Fresh |
| Vänern |  Sweden | Västergötland, Dalsland, Värmland | 5650km2 | 153km3 | Fresh |
| Tahoe | United States | California and Nevada | 490km2 | 151km3 | Fresh |
| Mistassini | Canada | Quebec | 2164km2 | 150km3 | Fresh |
| Albert | Uganda, | African Great Lakes | 5300km2 | 133km3 | Fresh |
| Nettilling | Canada | Nunavut, (Baffin Island) | 5542km2 | 130km3 | Fresh |
| Fagnano | Argentina, Chile | Tierra del Fuego | 645km2 | 125km3 | Fresh |
| Viedma | Argentina | Santa Cruz Province | 1193km2 | 119km3 | Fresh |
| Iliamna | United States | Alaska | 2622km2 | 116km3 | Fresh |
| Dead Sea |  Jordan,, Israel | Southern District, West Bank, Balqa Governorate, Madaba Governorate and Karak Governorate | 605km2 | 114km3 (decreasing) | 34% (increasing) |
| Baker | Canada | Nunavut | 1887km2 | 113km3 | Fresh |
| Reindeer | Canada | Saskatchewan and Manitoba | 6650km2 | 113km3 | Fresh |
| Nicaragua |  Nicaragua | Rivas Department, Granada Department and Río San Juan Department | 8264km2 | 110km3 | Fresh |
| Qinghai |  China | Qinghai Province | 4583km2 | 108km3 | 1.4% (variable) |
| Balkhash | Kazakhstan | Karaganda Region, Jambyl Region and Almaty Region | 16400km2 | 100km3 (decreasing) | 0.3% (variable) |
|
In 1960, the Aral Sea was the world's twelfth-largest known lake by volume, at 1100km3. 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.[8]
By continent
See also
Notes and references
References
Notes and References
- Cael. B. B.. Heathcote. A. J.. Seekell. D. A.. 2017. The volume and mean depth of Earth's lakes. Geophysical Research Letters. en. 44. 1. 209–218. 10.1002/2016GL071378. 2017GeoRL..44..209C. 1944-8007. 1912/8822. 132520745 . free.
- 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.
- Web site: Search – The Encyclopedia of Earth. www.eoearth.org.
- Web site: Lake Nipigon . World Lake Database . International Lake Environment Committee Foundation (ILEC) . 22 December 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160304200835/http://wldb.ilec.or.jp/Lake.asp?LakeID=SNAM-099&RoutePrm=0%3A%3B4%3Aload%3B . 4 March 2016 .
- Although some parts of Indonesia are often regarded as belonging to Oceania, Sumatra and Lake Toba are generally placed in Asia.
- Book: Walter K. Dodds. Matt R. Whiles. Freshwater Ecology: Concepts and Environmental Applications of Limnology. 22 February 2012. 23 September 2010. Academic Press. 978-0-12-374724-2. 141–142.
- News: Philip Micklin; Nikolay V. Aladin . Reclaiming the Aral Sea . Scientific American . March 2008 . 2008-05-17.
