List of lakes by volume - wikipedia 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 ( 1990 ). Where volume data from more recent surveys or other authoritative sources has been used, it is referenced in each entry. Contents 1 The list 2 By continent 3 See also 4 Notes and references 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. This list is incomplete ; you can help by expanding it. Continent color key Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America Antarctica Oceanic lakes Two bodies of water at times considered to be lakes are hydrologically ocean ( Maracaibo ) or geologically ocean ( the Caspian Sea ). Name Country Region Surface area Water volume Salinity Caspian Sea Azerbaijan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran 371,000 km ( 143,000 sq mi ) 78,200 km ( 18,800 cu mi ) 1.2 % Maracaibo Venezuela Trujillo, Zulia 13,210 km ( 5,100 sq mi ) 280 km ( 67 cu mi ) 3.5 % ( variable ) Continental lakes The following are geological as well as geographical lakes. Name Country Region Surface area Water volume Salinity Baikal Russia Siberia 31,722 km ( 12,248 sq mi ) 23,600 km ( 5,700 cu mi ) Fresh Tanganyika Tanzania, DR Congo, Burundi, Zambia African Great Lakes 32,900 km ( 12,700 sq mi ) 18,900 km ( 4,500 cu mi ) Fresh Superior United States, Canada Michigan, Minnesota, Ontario, Wisconsin 82,100 km ( 31,700 sq mi ) 11,600 km ( 2,800 cu mi ) Fresh Michigan -- Huron United States, Canada Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ontario 117,400 km ( 45,300 sq mi ) 8,443 km ( 2,026 cu mi ) Fresh Malawi Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania African Great Lakes 29,600 km ( 11,400 sq mi ) 7,725 km ( 1,853 cu mi ) Fresh Vostok Antarctica Under the East Antarctic Ice Sheet 15,690 km ( 6,060 sq mi ) 5,400 ± 1,600 km3 ( ~ 1,300 cu mi ) Fresh Michigan United States Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana. 58,000 km ( 22,000 sq mi ) 4,920 km ( 1,180 cu mi ) Fresh Huron United States, Canada Michigan, Ontario 59,600 km ( 23,000 sq mi ) 3,540 km ( 850 cu mi ) Fresh Victoria Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya African Great Lakes 68,800 km ( 26,600 sq mi ) 2,700 km ( 650 cu mi ) Fresh Great Bear Lake Canada Northwest Territories 31,153 km ( 12,028 sq mi ) 2,236 km ( 536 cu mi ) Fresh Issyk - Kul Kyrgyzstan Issyk - Kul Region 6,236 km ( 2,408 sq mi ) 1,730 km ( 420 cu mi ) 0.6 % Ontario Canada, United States New York, Ontario 18,960 km ( 7,320 sq mi ) 1,710 km ( 410 cu mi ) Fresh Great Slave Lake Canada Northwest Territories 27,200 km ( 10,500 sq mi ) 1,580 km ( 380 cu mi ) Fresh Ladoga Russia Leningrad Oblast, Republic of Karelia 17,700 km ( 6,800 sq mi ) 908 km ( 218 cu mi ) Fresh Titicaca Bolivia, Peru La Paz Department, Puno Region 8,372 km ( 3,232 sq mi ) 893 km ( 214 cu mi ) Fresh Van Turkey Southeast Anatolia 3,755 km ( 1,450 sq mi ) 607 km ( 146 cu mi ) 2.3 % Kivu Rwanda, DR Congo African Great Lakes 2,700 km ( 1,000 sq mi ) 569 km ( 137 cu mi ) Fresh Erie United States, Canada Michigan, Ohio, Ontario, Pennsylvania, New York 25,667 km ( 9,910 sq mi ) 480 km ( 120 cu mi ) Fresh Khövsgöl Mongolia Khövsgöl Province 2,760 km ( 1,070 sq mi ) 480 km ( 120 cu mi ) Fresh Onega Russia Leningrad Oblast, Republic of Karelia, Vologda Oblast 9,700 km ( 3,700 sq mi ) 295 km ( 71 cu mi ) Fresh Winnipeg Canada Manitoba 24,514 km ( 9,465 sq mi ) 284 km ( 68 cu mi ) Fresh Nipigon Canada Ontario 4,848 km ( 1,872 sq mi ) 248 km ( 59 cu mi ) Fresh Toba Indonesia Sumatra 1,130 km ( 440 sq mi ) 240 km ( 58 cu mi ) Fresh Argentino Argentina Santa Cruz Province 1,466 km ( 566 sq mi ) 219.9 km ( 52.8 cu mi ) Fresh Turkana Kenya African Great Lakes 6,405 km ( 2,473 sq mi ) 204 km ( 49 cu mi ) 0.24 % Vänern Sweden Västergötland, Dalsland, Värmland 5,650 km ( 2,180 sq mi ) 153 km ( 37 cu mi ) Fresh Tahoe United States California, Nevada 496 km ( 192 sq mi ) 151 km ( 36 cu mi ) Fresh Dead Sea Jordan, Israel, West Bank Judea and Samaria Area, Southern District, West Bank, Balqa Governorate, Madaba Governorate, Karak Governorate 810 km ( 310 sq mi ) 147 km ( 35 cu mi ) 34 % Albert Uganda, DR Congo African Great Lakes 5,300 km ( 2,000 sq mi ) 132 km ( 32 cu mi ) Fresh Iliamna United States Alaska 2,622 km ( 1,012 sq mi ) 115 km ( 28 cu mi ) Fresh Nettilling Canada Nunavut ( Baffin Island ) 5,066 km ( 1,956 sq mi ) 114 km ( 27 cu mi ) Fresh Balkhash Kazakhstan Karaganda Region, Jambyl Region, Almaty Region 16,400 km ( 6,300 sq mi ) 112 km ( 27 cu mi ) 0.3 % ( variable ) Athabasca Canada Alberta, Saskatchewan 7,850 km ( 3,030 sq mi ) 110 km ( 26 cu mi ) Fresh Nicaragua Nicaragua Rivas Department, Granada Department, Río San Juan Department 8,264 km ( 3,191 sq mi ) 108 km ( 26 cu mi ) Fresh In 1960, the Aral Sea was the world 's twelfth - largest known lake by volume, at 1,100 km ( 260 cu mi ). However, by 2007 it had shrunk to 10 % of its original volume and was divided into three lakes ; none of them is large enough to appear on this list. By continent Africa : Lake Tanganyika Antarctica : Lake Vostok Asia : Lake Baikal ( Caspian Sea ) Oceania : Lake Eyre Europe : Lake Ladoga North America : Lake Superior South America : Lake Titicaca See also List of lakes by depth List of lakes by area List of largest lakes of Europe Notes and references Notes ^ Jump up to : 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. References Jump up ^ van der Leeden ; Troise ; Todd ( 1990 ), The Water Encyclopedia ( 2nd ed. ), Chelsea, MI : Lewis Publishers, p. 198 -- 200 Jump up ^ 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. Jump up ^ 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. Jump up ^ Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and the largest freshwater lake by volume. Jump up ^ Which Lake is the World 's Largest ? Jump up ^ `` 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 Archived 2010 - 08 - 08 at the Wayback Machine... '' NOAA, 2006. Jump up ^ `` Lakes Michigan and Huron are considered to be one lake, as they rise and fall together due to their union at the Straits of Mackinac. '' U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, `` Hydrological Components '' Record Low Water Levels Expected on Lake Superior Archived 2008 - 10 - 15 at the Wayback Machine... August 2007. p. 6 Jump up ^ `` Great Lakes Map ''. Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Retrieved 20 September 2012. Jump up ^ `` Largest Lake in the World ''. geology.com. Retrieved 28 September 2012. Jump up ^ Hebert, Paul ( 2007 ), `` Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories '', Encyclopedia of Earth, Washington, DC : Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment, retrieved 2007 - 12 - 07 Jump up ^ http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/153100/ Jump up ^ Degens, E.T. ; Wong, H.K. ; Kempe, S. ; Kurtman, F. ( June 1984 ), `` A geological study of Lake Van, eastern Turkey '', International Journal of Earth Sciences, Springer, 73 ( 2 ) : 701 -- 734, doi : 10.1007 / BF01824978 Jump up ^ `` Lake Nipigon ''. World Lake Database. International Lake Environment Committee Foundation ( ILEC ). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2014. Jump up ^ Although some parts of Indonesia are often regarded as belonging to Oceania, Sumatra and Lake Toba are generally placed in Asia. Jump up ^ Philip Micklin ; Nikolay V. Aladin ( March 2008 ). `` Reclaiming the Aral Sea ''. Scientific American. Retrieved 2008 - 05 - 17. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_lakes_by_volume&oldid=817869526 '' Categories : Lists of lakes Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Incomplete lists from August 2008 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Esperanto فارسی Français Latviešu Magyar Português Română Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 31 December 2017, at 01 : 34. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: what is the world largest freshwater lake by volume
Answer: Baikal