List of lakes

This is a list of the top three to five major lakes per region, with links to more detailed region lists of lakes. A "major" lake is defined as that which is the largest by area, depth, volume, or cultural and/or environmental significance.

Africa

Great Lakes of Africa

Lists by country

Algeria

Angola

Benin

Botswana

Burkina Faso

Cameroon

Cape Verde


Central African Republic


Chad

Comoros


Democratic Republic of the Congo

Republic of the Congo

Djibouti

Egypt

Equatorial Guinea


Eritrea


Eswatini


Ethiopia

Gabon


The Gambia


Ghana

Guinea


Guinea-Bissau

Ivory Coast

Kenya

Lesotho

Liberia


Libya

Madagascar

Malawi

Mali

Mauritania

Mauritius

Morocco

Mozambique

Namibia

Niger

Nigeria

Rwanda

São Tomé and Príncipe


Senegal

Seychelles


Sierra Leone

Somalia


South Africa

South Sudan

Sudan

Tanzania

Togo


Tunisia

Uganda

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Antarctica

There are hundreds of lakes deep below the ice of Antarctica.[1]

Asia

International lakes of Asia

  • Lake Baikal – Lake Baikal is located in Siberia in southeastern Russia, just north of Mongolia. Considered the oldest surviving freshwater lake on the planet, it is also the deepest body of water in Asia at 5,315 feet (1,620 m), and the largest freshwater lake by volume, containing 20% of the planet's fresh water. An elongated lake, it has a maximum width of 60 miles (97 km) with an approximate length of 389 miles (626 km), and is fed by more than 300 rivers and streams.[2]
  • Caspian Sea – Situated between Asia and Europe and fed by the Volga and Ural Rivers in the north, the Caspian Sea is nevertheless somewhat salty in its central and south portions. The surface area measures 371,000 square kilometres (143,000 sq mi), with a maximum depth of 1,025 metres (3,363 ft).[2]
  • Aral Sea – Also in far-western Asia, just east of the Caspian Sea, the Aral Sea straddles the boundary between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The Aral Sea is shrinking due to evaporation and diversion for irrigation (among other factors) and what remains (only 10% of its former size)[3] is now almost totally polluted by fertilizer runoff, Soviet weapon testing residue and industrial projects,[2] leading to it being called "one of the planet's worst environmental disasters".[4]

Lists by country

Afghanistan

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Bahrain


Bangladesh

Bhutan

Brunei

  • Cypt

Cambodia

Tonlé Sap Lake, Cambodia

China

Cyprus

East Timor


Georgia

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Israel

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

North Korea

South Korea

Kuwait


Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Lebanon

Malaysia

Maldives


Mongolia

Myanmar

Nepal

Oman


Pakistan

Lake Saiful Muluk, Kaghan Valley, Pakistan
Rush Lake (Pakistan), the highest lake in Pakistan and 27th-highest in the world[5]

Philippines

Qatar

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

Sri Lanka

Syria

Tajikistan

Thailand

Turkey

Turkmenistan

United Arab Emirates - UAE

Uzbekistan

Vietnam

Yemen


Palestine

Taiwan

Chiaming Lake in Taitung County, Taiwan

Europe

International lakes of Europe

Lists by country

Republic of Albania

Andorra

Armenia

Austria

Azerbaijan

Belarus

Belgium

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bulgaria

Croatia

Cyprus

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Georgia

Germany

Greece

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Kazakhstan

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta


Moldova

Monaco


Montenegro

Netherlands

North Macedonia

Norway

Poland

Portugal

Romania

Russia

San Marino


Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

Turkey

Ukraine

United Kingdom

North and Central America

International lakes of North America

Listed in order of occurrence from easternmost border terminus to the westernmost

Lists by country

Antigua and Barbuda


Bahamas

Barbados


Belize


Canada

Costa Rica

Cuba

Dominica

Dominican Republic

El Salvador

Grenada

Guatemala

Haiti

Honduras

Jamaica


Mexico

Nicaragua

Panama

Saint Kitts and Nevis


Saint Lucia


Saint Vincent and the Grenadines


Trinidad and Tobago

United States of America - USA

The Great Lakes on June 23, 2022, from the International Space Station

Oceania

Lists by country

Australia

Federated States of Micronesia


Fiji


Kiribati


Marshall Islands


Nauru

New Zealand

Palau

Papua New Guinea

Samoa


Solomon Islands


Tonga

Tuvalu


Vanuatu

Wallis and Futuna

South America

International lakes of South America

Lists by country

Argentina

Bolivia

Brazil

Chile

Colombia

Ecuador

Guyana

Paraguay

Peru

Suriname


Uruguay

Venezuela

Former lakes

Extraterrestrial lakes

Titan

See also

References

  1. ^ See map in Aldhous, Peter (August 23, 2014). "First samples of Antarctic lake reveal thriving life". New Scientist: 12. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(14)61609-2. Archived from the original on August 23, 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Lakes of Asia, Landforms of Asia – Worldatlas.com". WorldAtlas. Reunion Technology Inc. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  3. ^ Micklin, Philip; Aladin, Nikolay V. (April 2008). "Reclaiming the Aral Sea". Scientific American. Retrieved May 17, 2008.
  4. ^ "Aral Sea 'one of the planet's worst environmental disasters'". The Daily Telegraph. London. April 5, 2010. Archived from the original on April 8, 2010. Retrieved May 1, 2010.
  5. ^ "The Highest Lake in the World". highestlake.com. Retrieved October 13, 2019.
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