List of lakes by volume


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. 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. Where volume data from more recent surveys or other authoritative sources has been used, it is referenced in each entry.

The list

The volume of the lakes below varies 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.
NameCountryRegionSurface areaWater volumeSalinity
Caspian Sea
1.2%
BaikalSiberiaFresh
Tanganyika,,, African Great LakesFresh
Superior
North American Great LakesFresh
Malawi,, African Great LakesFresh
VostokUnder the East Antarctic Ice Sheet5,400±1,600 km³ Fresh
MichiganNorth American Great LakesFresh
Huron,
North American Great LakesFresh
Victoria,, African Great LakesFresh
Great Bear LakeNorthwest TerritoriesFresh
Issyk-KulIssyk-Kul Region0.6%
Ontario, North American Great LakesFresh
Great Slave LakeNorthwest TerritoriesFresh
LadogaLeningrad Oblast, Republic of KareliaFresh
Titicaca, La Paz Department, Puno RegionFresh
VanSoutheast Anatolia2.3%
Kivu, African Great LakesFresh
Erie,
North American Great LakesFresh
KhövsgölKhövsgöl ProvinceFresh
OnegaLeningrad Oblast, Republic of Karelia, Vologda OblastFresh
WinnipegManitobaFresh
NipigonOntarioFresh
TobaSumatraFresh
Argentino LakeSanta Cruz ProvinceFresh
TurkanaAfrican Great Lakes0.24%
VänernVästergötland, Dalsland, VärmlandFresh
TahoeCalifornia, NevadaFresh
Dead Sea,, Judea and Samaria Area, Southern District, West Bank, Balqa Governorate, Madaba Governorate, Karak Governorate34%
Albert, African Great LakesFresh
IliamnaAlaskaFresh
NettillingNunavut Fresh
BalkhashKaraganda Region, Jambyl Region, Almaty Region0.3%
AthabascaAlberta, SaskatchewanFresh
NicaraguaRivas Department, Granada Department, Río San Juan DepartmentFresh

In 1960, the Aral Sea was the world's twelfth-largest known lake by volume, at. 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.

By continent