List of lakes by area “Largest lakes” redirects here. For the largest lakes by volume, see List of lakes by volume. For lakes on bodies other than Earth, see List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System.
as a single entity, it is the largest freshwater lake by surface area in the world, at 117,400 km2 (45,300 sq mi).[12][13][14][15][16]
References This is a list of terrestrial lakes with a surface area of more than 4,000 square kilometres (1,500 sq mi), ranked by area.[1][2][3] This list does not include reservoirs and lagoons.
[1] Likens, Gene E., ed. (2009). “Historical Estimates of Limnicity”. Encyclopedia of inland waters (1st ed.). Amsterdam: Elsevier. ISBN 0120884623. Table 1: The world’s lakes >2000 km2 in area, arranged in decreasing order of lake area. See also Lakes (Formation, Diversity, Distribution)
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.
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[2] Marsh, William M.; Martin M. Kaufman. Physical geography : great systems and global environments. Table 16.2: Great lakes of the world by lake type. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 399. ISBN 0521764289.
List of lakes This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
[3] van der Leeden, Frits; Troise, Fred L.; Todd, David Keith, eds. (1991). The water encyclopedia (2nd ed.). Chelsea, Mich.: Lewis. pp. 198–200. ISBN 9780873711203. [4] “Plume over the Caspian Sea”. NASA. Retrieved 201011-29.
Laguna Mar Chiquita, Argentina?? * denotes saline lake.
[5] “Caspian Sea”. Britannica. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
Source for the 20 largest lakes (and their areas):[27]
[6] “Endorheic Lakes”. United Nations. Retrieved 2010-1129.
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See also
[7] DuMont, H.J. “The Caspian Lake: History, biota, structure, and function” (PDF). American Society of Limnology and Oceanography. Retrieved 2010-11-29.
• List of lakes by volume • List of lakes by depth
[8] Planet Earth And the New Geoscience (2003:154). Victor Schmidt, William Harbert, University of Pittsburgh
• List of largest lakes of Europe
[9] http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/atlas/gl-fact1.html Great Lakes Factsheet No. 1 US Environmental Protection Agency website retrieved September 9, 2012
• Aral Sea, formerly the fourth largest lake in the world • Lake Michigan-Huron
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[10] “Great Lakes: Basic Information: Physical Facts”. United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). May 25, 2011. Archived from the original on 2012-05-29. Retrieved November 9, 2011.
Notes and references
[11] Superior Pursuit: facts about the Greatest Great Lake Minnesota Sea Grant. University of Minnesota.
Note: Lake areas may slightly vary depending on the sources.
[12] David Lees in Canadian Geographic writes, “Contrary to popular belief, the largest lake in the world is not Lake Superior but mighty Lake Michigan–Huron, which is a single hydrological unit linked at the Straits of Mackinac.” Lees, David. “High and Dry” Canadian Geographic (May/June 2004) pp.94-108.
Notes [1] Although Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are usually considered distinct sometimes they are regarded as a single lake known as Lake Michigan–Huron. When treated
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