The largest lakes on earth. List, names, descriptions, maps and photos of the largest lakes in Russia

Lakes are an important component of the planet's ecosystem. They contain most of the fresh water on the planet. Half of the planet's largest lakes are located on the North American continent. But which lakes are considered the largest in the world in terms of area? Let's look at the 9 largest lakes by area.

First place rightfully occupies the Caspian Sea. Part of its coastline is located on the territory of the Russian Federation, and part of its borders are located in Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. The Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world. It is drainless, salty, and belongs to both Europe and Asia. It can be divided into 3 parts, one of which has a depth of more than 1 km. Located in the middle of the continent, the lake has an oceanic bottom structure. The total surface area is 371 thousand km².

The next place is occupied by the largest of the Great Lakes of America - Upper. It is located in the USA and Canada. The area is just over 84 thousand km². This lake is also the deepest in America and the largest freshwater lake in the whole world. Its basin is of tectonic origin, and the waters appeared due to the melting of ancient glaciers.

The largest lake in Africa ranks third. It's fresh Lake Victoria tectonic origin. The lake lies on the territory of Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania. There are a lot of fish in the lake. There are many islands on the lake. The maximum depth of the reservoir is up to 80 meters.

The fourth place is taken Lake Huron. Its area is about 60,000 km². It is located in Canada and the USA. Its depth is 229 meters. Connected to Lake Michigan by a single water system.

The sixth largest lake is the endorheic salt lake on the border of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, which is dying Aral Sea. Just 25 years ago it was almost 3 times more than it is now. The complete disappearance of the reservoir is predicted within 5-10 years. The lake has become a victim of human activity and its adverse effects on the ecosystem. The Kazakh government tried to develop a plan to fill the lake using an artificial canal. In the 60s of the last century, the lake was the 4th largest in the world.

Seventh place rightfully belongs to the lake Tanganyika. This is the deepest lake in Africa, which runs along the border of several states. It occupies 34,000 km². The water in the lake is fresh, but very hard. Like highly diluted sea water. This is due to the presence of hydrogen sulfide and minerals in the water. The depth of the lake is about 1.5 km. The lake is inhabited by fish, there are crocodiles and hippos. Life in the lake is only in the upper 200 meters of water; it is not deeper due to the high concentration of hydrogen sulfide. The water in the lake is absolutely transparent. The lake is considered very ancient.

Eighth place Lake Baikal on the territory of the Russian Federation. This is the world's deepest freshwater lake. The area of ​​the water surface is almost 32 thousand km². This lake of tectonic origin is rich in flora and fauna, and in the Irkutsk region everyone calls it the sea.

In 9th position is Canadian Great Bear Lake. Tenth place was taken by Lake Nyasa with an area of ​​30,800 km². It is located in Africa, below sea level. The lake is surrounded by steep cliffs. It is famous for its storms and huge number of fish species.

Every day, beautiful photographs with pleasant views are taken against their background, which evoke a lot of positive emotions. Large lakes are especially beautiful when photographed from above. What is the name of the largest lake in the world? Modern researchers believe that Baikal belongs to this lake, but this opinion is disputed. Until now, researchers have not given a definite answer as to the name of the largest freshwater lake in the world. Indeed, due to the great depth, it is difficult to determine the exact amount of water in each of them. Here's what science knows about freshwater lakes today.

10 lakes

Until now, it was believed that the largest lake in the world by area was, of course, Baikal (Russia). However, the data obtained about him is approximate. Here are the 10 largest lakes known to the world, starting with the smallest.

10th place is occupied by Great Slave Lake, located in Canada. It has an area of ​​29 square kilometers and amazes travelers with its unusually beautiful, picturesque bluish tint. It represents the remains of a reservoir that existed during the glacial era. The water in it is very chilly and cool, clear, like crystal. This lake received its name because of the slave tribe that once inhabited its shores.

9th place is occupied by Lake Malawi on the border of Mozambique. This is a very large fresh water reservoir, covering an area of ​​30 square kilometers. It was formed due to a steep depression. Various storms and whirlpools regularly pass near it, and it becomes impassable for ships. Of course, this is not the largest lake in the world by area, but it is considered the largest in the region.

8th place went to Great Bear Lake, located on the shores of Canada, but already beyond the Arctic Circle. Its area is about 32 square kilometers. Once upon a time, a lot of radioactive uranium was found in it, from which nuclear weapons were made for Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

7th place is occupied by Russian Lake Baikal. This is the largest lake in the world and Russia, which contains 19% of all fresh water in the world. Many tourists constantly visit it, since the nature around the lake is indeed very pleasant and useful. Large taiga pines and cedars grow around Baikal, filling the air with a wonderful resinous aroma in the sun. The water in the lake is very beautiful, transparent, even through a thick layer of ice. The lake was formed due to a large tectonic crack, which gradually continues to deepen. The area of ​​Baikal is 31.7 square kilometers, but it is very deep, and the depth continues to grow.

6th place – Lake Tanganyitka, located on the border of the Congo. It was formed as a result of a tectonic fault. This is the second deepest closed reservoir after Lake Baikal. The shores of this lake consist of high rocks, very sharp and steep banks. Its area is 33 square kilometers.

5th place belongs to Lake Michigan. Its area is about 58 square kilometers. It is located in North America, and for about 4 months of the year it is covered with a very thick layer of ice.

4th place – Lake Huron, which is located on the border of America and Canada. Its area is 59 square kilometers, and it has very a large number of islands. The lake is located among rocks and stones and looks very picturesque in photographs.

The third largest lake is Lake Victoria in Africa. Its area is almost 70 square kilometers, and it is considered the largest African and tropical lake in the world. It is replenished by abundant tropical rains, has many islands and attracts attention with its beautiful olive hue.

2nd place – Lake Superior, located in North America. Its area is 82 square kilometers. It is not the largest lake in the world by area, but it is very wide. There is a plain around it, so there is a rare phenomenon there - standing waves that destroy its fragile shores.

The Caspian Sea ranks first in the world. Yes, in fact, this is a lake. And although it is not the largest or cleanest freshwater lake in the world, it has an area of ​​371 square kilometers. The banks of the reservoir are swampy and washed out. And it appeared from tectonic plates and faults that separated it from the World Ocean.

The largest lake in the world by area

This is the Caspian Sea, although it is correct to call it a lake. Its area is more than 371 square kilometers.

The largest lake in the world and Russia

This is the well-known Lake Baikal, which is considered the single largest source of fresh water in the world. If we take a lake that does not contain fresh water, then it becomes the Caspian Sea.

So the largest freshwater lake in the world, like, is Russian Baikal, which annually attracts many tourists around it.

There are about 5 million lakes in the world, but we have only heard about a few of the largest ones. Do you think that Baikal is the largest lake in the world? In fact, Baikal takes only 7th place in the ranking of the largest lakes!

Did you know that the area of ​​the largest lake on the planet is equal to the area of ​​52 million football fields and is comparable to the area of ​​Moscow multiplied by 150 times? No? Then read below!

No. 10. Great Slave Lake - 28,930 square kilometers. North America.

Great Slave Lake is the 10th largest lake in the world by area, and it is also the deepest lake in North America. Its depth is 614 meters. The dimensions of Great Slave Lake are 480 km long, 19-109 km wide, and an area of ​​28,930 square kilometers.

From October to June the lake is frozen; in winter the ice can support the weight of trucks. Rivers flowing into the lake: Hay, Slave, Snowdrift, etc. The Mackenzie River flows out of the lake. The origin of the lake is glacial-tectonic.

No. 9. Lake Nyasa - 30,044 square kilometers. East Africa.

Lake Nyasa (Malawi) is the ninth largest lake in the world by area. Lake Nyasa fills a crack in the earth's crust in the Great Rift Valley in East Africa, located between Mozambique and Tanzania. The length of the lake is 560 km, depth - 706 m. Nyasa contains 7% of the world's reserves of liquid fresh water.

Nyasa is known for its rich ecosystem, many of the species found in the lake are endemic. The origin of the lake is tectonic.

No. 8. Great Bear Lake - 31,080 square kilometers. Canada.

Great Bear Lake is located 200 km south of the Arctic Circle in Canada. The lake ranks eighth in area in the world and fourth in North America. Dimensions of the lake: length - 320 km, width - 175 km, maximum depth - 446 m.

The lake does not have a very good history. Uranium was found here. It was from here that uranium was mined to make the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The lake is almost always covered with ice; the ice rarely melts before the end of July. The origin of the lake is glacial-tectonic.

No. 7. Lake Baikal - 31,500 square kilometers. Eastern Siberia.

Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, the largest water reservoir, which contains 20% of the world's liquid fresh water reserves. Baikal is also considered one of the cleanest lakes in the world.

The lake ranks seventh in area in the world and first in volume. Dimensions of the lake: length - 636 km, width - 80 km, maximum depth - 1642 m, volume - 23,600 km3.
The origin of the lake is tectonic, its age is more than 25 million years. The fauna of Lake Baikal is one of the most unique in the world; many species are endemic.

No. 6. Lake Tanganyika - 32,893 square kilometers. Central Africa.

Lake Tanganyika is one of the deepest lakes in the world, along with Lake Baikal. The lake lies between 4 countries - the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zambia and Burundi.

Dimensions of the lake: length - 676 ​​km, width - 72 km, maximum depth - 1470 m, volume - 18,900 km3. The origin of the lake is tectonic.

Tanganyika lies in Africa's deepest tectonic basin and is part of the Congo River basin, one of the largest rivers in the world.

No. 5. Lake Michigan - 58,016 square kilometers. North America.

Lake Michigan is one of the Great Lakes. This lake is the largest lake located entirely within the United States. Michigan is the fifth largest in the world and the third largest among the Great Lakes. The volume of the lake is 4918 m3, length - 494 km, width - 190 km, maximum depth - 281 m. The origin of the lake is glacial-tectonic.

No. 4. Lake Huron - 59,596 square kilometers. North America.

Lake Huron is one of the Great Lakes. This lake is located on the territory of two countries: the USA and Canada. Huron is the fourth largest lake in the world. The volume of the lake is 3538 m3, length - 331 km, width - 295 km, maximum depth - 229 m. The origin of the lake is glacial-tectonic.

No. 3. Lake Victoria - 69,485 square kilometers. East Africa.

Lake Victoria is located in Tanzania and Kenya. With the construction of the Owen Falls Dam in 1954, the lake was converted into a reservoir. There are many islands on the lake. Fishing is developed on the lake and there are many ports in three countries. A national park has been established on the island of Rubondo (Tanzania).

Victoria is the third largest lake in the world. The volume of the lake is 2760 m3, length - 320 km, width - 274 km, maximum depth - 80 m. The origin of the lake is tectonic.

The lake was discovered and named in honor of Queen Victoria by British traveler John Henning Speke in 1858.

No. 2. Lake Superior - 82,414 square kilometers. North America.

Lake Superior is the second largest in the world and the largest among the Great Lakes, located on the border of the United States and Canada. The volume of the lake is 12,000 m3, length - 563 km, width - 257 km, maximum depth - 406 m. The origin of the lake is glacial-tectonic.

Etymology of the name. In the Ojibwe language, the lake is called Gichigami, which means “big water.”

No. 1. Caspian Sea - 371,000 square kilometers. Europe Asia.

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth, which is classified as the largest lake or sea due to its size. Located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Volume - 78,200 m3, length - 1200 km, width - 435 km, maximum depth - 1025 m. The length of the coastline of the Caspian Sea is approximately 6500 kilometers.

130 rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, the largest of them are the Volga, Terek, Sulak, Ural, Kura, Artek, etc. The Caspian Sea washes the shores of Kazakhstan, Iran, Turkmenistan, Russia, and Azerbaijan.
The origin of the lake is oceanic.

In the minds of the common man, a lake is a place where, sitting in the reeds with a fishing rod, you can fish in silence, far from the noise of civilization. In a certain sense, this is true; there are countless small nameless lakes on the planet. But there are other lakes that are more like seas, because their sizes are truly grandiose. The largest lakes in the world are huge navigable bodies of water, on the surface of which real storms occur and huge waves rise. These giant lakes are both fresh and salty.

The largest lake on Earth

The answer to the question of which is the largest lake is not at all clear. After all, you can compare lakes by depth, by area, by volume of water. Surprisingly, it turns out that the Caspian Sea, which everyone rightfully considers a sea, is actually a huge lake! He is the one who takes the lead in this category. After all, the area of ​​the largest lake is 371 thousand square kilometers with a maximum depth of 1025 meters. At the beginning of the last century, its area was 422 thousand square kilometers and over the last century it has become significantly smaller.

Although the Caspian Sea is a lake, its water is salty, but not to the same extent as in the seas. The largest salt lake is located where Europe and Asia meet. From north to south along the entire length of the lake, the climate also changes from subtropical to temperate continental. In addition to deposits of the world famous Caspian oil, the lake is rich in fish. There is especially a lot of sturgeon here, and, accordingly, black caviar.

The largest freshwater lake in the world

The largest fresh water lake is Baikal. Its area is 31,479 square kilometers. Baikal is also the deepest in the world - 1637 meters. This mountain lake, framed by mountain ranges, is fed by more than three hundred rivers and streams. The largest is Selenga, which replenishes half of the annual water supply in the lake. But only one river flows out of Baikal - the Angara.

The world's largest fresh water lake is also the deepest and cleanest on the planet. And the beauty of the surrounding area simply defies description. Baikal is shaped like a crescent. In the spring, when the ice drift passes, the transparency of the water reaches forty meters in depth. These clear depths are inhabited by a huge number of species of freshwater fish - from common carp and perch to valuable salmon and sturgeon.

In addition to fish, Baikal is home to a marine mammal adapted to fresh water - the Baikal seal or the Baikal seal, and the shores are inhabited by a variety of birds. It is interesting that the waters of the largest lake are inhabited by some species of fish and plants that are not found anywhere except here in other bodies of water. In recent years

Despite the fact that the word “lake” is associated with a small and quiet body of water, this is not always the case. If you have ever wondered: “what deepest lake in the world, or what is the largest lake in the world,” then you have come to the right place. After all, today we will look at the most grandiose lakes of our planet, and figure out which of them is worthy of the title - “the largest”.

The Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world

It's strange, but largest lake in the world– this is the Caspian Sea. But it is called the sea only because of its enormous size, because its area reaches up to 371,000 km2, the water level reaches 26.75 meters, the volume of water is 78,648 km3 (44% of the world's lake water reserves).

The salinity of the lake varies from 0.05% to 13%, depending on the location. The lowest salinity is observed at the confluence of the Volga River into the lake, the highest in the south. Shaped like the Latin letter “S”, the sea extends from north to south for 1200 km, from west to east from 195 to 435 km. Conventionally, the sea is divided into three parts: the northern, middle and southern parts. The coastline of the Caspian Sea reaches 7000 km. In most places it is low-lying and smooth, with the exception of the north, where it is cut by the Volga delta.

Lake Superior and Victoria, which is the largest lake?

Next on the list is Lake Superior. In addition to the fact that this body of water is the largest, coldest and deepest among the Great Lakes (USA/Canada, North America). It is included in the list - " largest freshwater lakes in the world", and not only enters, but takes second place in it. The northern border of this lake is the Canadian province of Ontario, the western is the American state of Minnesota, and the southern is the states of Wisconsin and Michigan. The lake appeared during the melting and retreat of the ice sheet.

Lake Victoria got its name from the British Queen. On the continent of Africa, it is the largest body of water. It is located on the territory of several countries - Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. The largest lakethere are a large number of islands in the world. The Nile River flows out of the lake. The maximum depth of the lake is 80 m, making the lake classified as deep.The area of ​​the lake is about 68,000 km2. Width and length – 275 by 320 km. Also, Victoria is located in the tectonic trough of the East African platform at an altitude of 1134 m; by the way, it has almost With largest waterfall in the world .

The largest freshwater lakes in the world, other options

Other large lakes can be considered (in descending order) - Huron (59,600 km2), Michigan (57,750 km2), Aral Sea (constantly decreasing due to the withdrawal of water from the lake for irrigation of fields), Tanganyika (34,000 km2), Baikal (the deepest lake planet, 31,722 km2), Great Bear Lake and Nyasa.