Lakes in true scale
Explore every quiz lake through its own sourced profile. Surface area alone cannot reveal water volume because depth matters just as much.
A lake can be described by the surface visible on a map and by the volume hidden below it. Those measures can produce very different rankings. Shallow Lake Victoria covers almost 69,000 km², yet Baikal holds more than eight times as much water.
Below are all the lakes from our quizzes, ranked from largest to smallest by volume. Each has its own page with its true outline, a full set of figures (with source and year), and an intuition-versus-measurement comparison.
Every lake on the world map
Hover a dot to see the name, and click it to open the lake's page.
Compare the lakes by the numbers
Click a column header to sort by surface area, volume, or depth.
| Lake Baikal | 31,722 | 23,615 | 1,642 | 744 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Tanganyika | 32,600 | 18,900 | 1,470 | 570 |
| Lake Superior | 82,100 | 12,100 | 406 | 147 |
| Lake Malawi | 29,500 | 8,400 | 706 | 292 |
| Lake Michigan | 57,800 | 4,920 | 282 | 85 |
| Lake Huron | 59,600 | 3,540 | 229 | 59 |
| Lake Victoria | 68,800 | 2,760 | 81 | 40 |
| Great Bear Lake | 31,328 | 2,236 | 446 | 72 |
| Issyk-Kul | 6,236 | 1,738 | 668 | 278 |
| Lake Ontario | 18,960 | 1,640 | 244 | 86 |
| Great Slave Lake | 28,568 | 1,580 | 614 | 41 |
| Lake Titicaca | 8,372 | 893 | 281 | 107 |
| Lake Ladoga | 17,700 | 837 | 230 | 47 |
| Lake Erie | 25,700 | 484 | 64 | 19 |
| Lake Onega | 9,700 | 285 | 127 | 30 |
| Lake Winnipeg | 24,514 | 284 | 36 | 12 |
| Lake Turkana | 6,750 | 204 | 109 | 30 |
| Vänern | 5,655 | 153 | 106 | 27 |
Every lake ranked by water volume
Lake Baikal
The world's deepest and oldest lake
- water
- 23,615 km³
- area
- 31,722 km²
- depth
- 1,642 m
Lake Tanganyika
The world's second deepest lake and second largest freshwater lake by volume
- water
- 18,900 km³
- area
- 32,600 km²
- depth
- 1,470 m
Lake Superior
The world's largest freshwater lake by surface area
- water
- 12,100 km³
- area
- 82,100 km²
- depth
- 406 m
Lake Malawi
Africa's second deepest lake and a world record for fish diversity
- water
- 8,400 km³
- area
- 29,500 km²
- depth
- 706 m
Lake Michigan
The largest lake in the world lying wholly within one country
- water
- 4,920 km³
- area
- 57,800 km²
- depth
- 282 m
Lake Huron
Second Great Lake by area; the world's largest lake island (Manitoulin)
- water
- 3,540 km³
- area
- 59,600 km²
- depth
- 229 m
Lake Victoria
The world's largest tropical lake and second largest freshwater lake by area
- water
- 2,760 km³
- area
- 68,800 km²
- depth
- 81 m
Great Bear Lake
The largest lake lying entirely within Canada
- water
- 2,236 km³
- area
- 31,328 km²
- depth
- 446 m
Issyk-Kul
One of the world's deepest and largest lakes by volume
- water
- 1,738 km³
- area
- 6,236 km²
- depth
- 668 m
Lake Ontario
The smallest Great Lake by surface area
- water
- 1,640 km³
- area
- 18,960 km²
- depth
- 244 m
Great Slave Lake
The deepest lake in North America
- water
- 1,580 km³
- area
- 28,568 km²
- depth
- 614 m
Lake Titicaca
The world's highest large navigable lake
- water
- 893 km³
- area
- 8,372 km²
- depth
- 281 m
Lake Ladoga
The largest lake in Europe
- water
- 837 km³
- area
- 17,700 km²
- depth
- 230 m
Lake Erie
The shallowest Great Lake and the smallest by volume
- water
- 484 km³
- area
- 25,700 km²
- depth
- 64 m
Lake Onega
The second largest lake in Europe
- water
- 285 km³
- area
- 9,700 km²
- depth
- 127 m
Lake Winnipeg
One of the shallowest large lakes in the world for its area
- water
- 284 km³
- area
- 24,514 km²
- depth
- 36 m
Lake Turkana
The world's largest permanent desert lake and largest alkaline lake
- water
- 204 km³
- area
- 6,750 km²
- depth
- 109 m
Vänern
The largest lake of Sweden and the whole EU
- water
- 153 km³
- area
- 5,655 km²
- depth
- 106 m
Lake questions and answers
Lake Baikal holds about 23,615 km³. UNESCO reports that this is nearly 20 percent of Earth's unfrozen freshwater reserve. Baikal has a greater volume than all the Great Lakes combined despite having only about 13 percent of their combined surface area.
Lake Superior, at 82,100 km², is the world's largest freshwater lake by surface area. The Caspian Sea is larger but contains salt water. The volume ranking differs from the surface-area ranking.
Volume also depends on depth. Lake Winnipeg averages 12 m deep and holds 284 km³, while the smaller Issyk-Kul averages 278 m and holds 1,738 km³.