List of lakes by volume This article lists lakes with a water volume of more than • Oceania: Lake Te Anau 100 km³, ranked by volume. The volume of a lake is • Europe: Lake Ladoga a difficult quantity to measure. Generally, the volume must be inferred from bathymetric data by integration. • North America: Lake Superior Lake volumes can also change dramatically over time and during the year, especially for salt lakes in arid climates. • South America: Lake Titicaca 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 is from The Water Encyclopedia (1990).[1] Where volume data 3 Notes and references from more recent surveys or other authoritative sources has been used, it is referenced in each entry. Notes
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[1] Although Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are usually considered distinct, they are sometimes regarded as a single lake. Lake Michigan–Huron is the fourth-largest freshwater lake by volume.[5][6][7][8][9]
The list
The largest lakes by volume vary little by season. This list does not include reservoirs; if it did, six reservoirs would appear on the lists: Lake Kariba at 26th, Bratsk Reser- References voir, Lake Volta, Lake Nasser, Manicouagan Reservoir and Lake Guri. [1] van der Leeden; Troise; Todd (1990), The Water Encyclopedia (2nd ed.), Chelsea, MI: Lewis Publishers, p. 198– 200
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[2] 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.
Oceanic lakes Two bodies of water commonly considered lakes are hydrologically ocean (Maracaibo) or geologically ocean (the Caspian Sea). Continental lakes
[3] Lake Maracaibo is generally regarded as a lake, but is seen by geologists as an inlet of the Caribbean Sea. It lies approximately at sea level, is somewhat salty and is connected to the Caribbean via a channel at its northern end.
The following are geological as well as geographic lakes. In 1960, the Aral Sea was the world’s twelfth largest known lake by volume, at 1,100 km3 (260 cu mi). However, by 2007 it had shrunk to 10% its original volume, divided into three lakes, none large enough to appear on this list.[15]
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[4] Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake by volume. [5] Which Lake is the World’s Largest?
By continent
[6] “Lakes Michigan and Huron are considered to be one lake hydraulically because of their connection through the deep Straits of Mackinac.” Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Great Lakes Sensitivity to Climatic Forcing: Hydrological Models.” NOAA, 2006.
• Africa: Lake Tanganyika • Antarctica: Lake Vostok • Asia: Lake Baikal (Caspian Sea) 1