page_title: Lake
section_title: Notable lakes on Earth
hierarchical_section_title: Lake / Notable lakes on Earth
caption_attribution_description: العربية: منظرٌ من مدار الأرض لِبحر قزوين. التعليق الأصلي: كما أوردته وكالة الناسا:&#160;::"القسم الشمالي من بحر قزوين يُعاني من ظاهرةٍ تُعرف باسم التخثث أو إغناء الماء، وهي تلك الحالة التي تتسببُ فيها الأسمدة الزراعيَّة المُنسابة من خِلال مياه الري والأمطار بِنُمو الطحالب في المياه. يُؤدي نُفوق وتحلُّل تلك الطحالب إلى حرمان المياه من الأكسجين، ممَّا يُؤدي بِدوره إلى الإضرار بِالحياة البريَّة بِطبيعة الحال. هذه الصُورة لِبحر قزوين تُظهرُ بعض الدوَّامات الخضراء والزرقاء على مقرُبةٍ من مصب نهر الڤولغا (أعلى الوسط)، ممَّا يدُل على وُجود كميَّةٍ من الطحالب. اللون الأزرق اللامع في القسم الشمالي الشرقي من البحر قد يكون تولَّد نتيجة اختلاط بعض النباتات بِالترسُبات، نظرًا لِأنَّ هذا الموقع هو أكثر المناطق ضُحولةً في البحر. English: This is a view from orbit of the Caspian Sea as imaged by the MODIS sensor on the Terra satellite. Caption: The original caption from NASA:&#160;::"The northern part of the Caspian Sea is plagued by a process called eutrophication, in which agricultural run-off rich in fertilizers stimulates rampant growth of algae in the water. The death and decay of these algae robs the water of oxygen, with obvious negative consequences for aquatic life. This image of the Caspian Sea shows swirls of green and blue near the mouth of the Volga River (top center), which indicate the presence of algae. The bright blue color of the northeastern part of the sea may be due to a mixture of plant life and sediment, for this is where the sea is most shallow. This image is from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra satellite on June 11, 2003. Español: El Mar Caspio visto desde la órbita terrestre فارسی: تصویر ماهواره‌ای از دریای خزر‏ Тоҷикӣ: Тасвири Баҳр Каспӣ аз осмон
context_page_description: A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, apart from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although like the much larger oceans, they form part of earth's water cycle. Lakes are distinct from lagoons which are generally coastal parts of the ocean. They are generally larger and deeper than ponds, which also lie on land, though there are no official or scientific definitions. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams, which are usually flowing in a channel on land. Most lakes are fed and drained by rivers and streams.
  Natural lakes are generally found in mountainous areas, rift zones, and areas with ongoing glaciation. Other lakes are found in endorheic basins or along the courses of mature rivers, where a river channel has widened into a basin. In some parts of the world there are many lakes because of chaotic drainage patterns left over from the last Ice Age. All lakes are temporary over geologic time scales, as they will slowly fill in with sediments or spill out of the basin containing them.
context_section_description: The largest lake by surface area is Caspian Sea, which is despite its name considered as a lake from the point of view of geography. Its surface area is 143,000 sq. mi./371,000 km².
  The second largest lake by surface area, and the largest freshwater lake by surface area, is Lake Michigan-Huron, which is hydrologically a single lake. Its surface area is 45,300 sq. mi./117,400 km².  For those who consider Lake Michigan-Huron to be separate lakes, and Caspian Sea to be a sea, Lake Superior would be the largest lake at 82,100 km² (31,700 square miles)
  Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, located in Siberia, with a bottom at 1,637 metres (5,371 ft). Its mean depth is also the greatest in the world (749 metres (2,457 ft)).
  It is also the world's largest freshwater lake by volume (23,600 cubic kilometres (5,700 cu mi), but much smaller than the Caspian Sea at 78,200 cubic kilometres (18,800 cu mi)), and the second longest (about 630 kilometres (390 mi) from tip to tip).
  The world's oldest lake is Lake Baikal, followed by Lake Tanganyika in  Tanzania. Lake Maracaibo is considered by some to be the second-oldest lake on Earth, but since it lies at sea level and nowadays is a contiguous body of water with the sea, others consider that it has turned into a small bay.
  The longest lake is Lake Tanganyika, with a length of about 660 kilometres (410 mi) (measured along the lake's center line).
  It is also the third largest by volume, the second oldest, and the second deepest (1,470 metres (4,820 ft)) in the world, after Lake Baikal.
  The world's highest lake, if size is not a criterion, may be the crater lake of Ojos del Salado, at 6,390 metres (20,965 ft).
  The highest large (greater than 250 square kilometres (97 sq mi)) lake in the world is the 290 square kilometres (110 sq mi) Pumoyong Tso (Pumuoyong Tso), in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, at 28-34N 90-24E, 5,018 metres (16,463 ft) above sea level.
  The world's highest commercially navigable lake is Lake Titicaca in Peru and Bolivia at 3,812 m (12,507 ft). It is also the largest lake in South America.
  The world's lowest lake is the Dead Sea, bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and Palestine to the west, at 418 metres (1,371 ft) below sea level. It is also one of the lakes with highest salt concentration.
  Lake Michigan–Huron has the longest lake coastline in the world: about 5,250 kilometres (3,260 mi), excluding the coastline of its many inner islands. Even if it is considered two lakes, Lake Huron alone would still have the longest coastline in the world at 2,980 kilometres (1,850 mi).
  The largest island in a lake is Manitoulin Island in Lake Michigan-Huron, with a surface area of 2,766 square kilometres (1,068 sq mi). Lake Manitou, on Manitoulin Island, is the largest lake on an island in a lake.
  The largest lake on an island is Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island, with an area of 5,542 square kilometres (2,140 sq mi) and a maximum length of 123 kilometres (76 mi).
  The largest lake in the world that drains naturally in two directions is Wollaston Lake.
  Lake Toba on the island of Sumatra is in what is probably the largest resurgent caldera on Earth.
  The largest lake completely within the boundaries of a single city is Lake Wanapitei in the city of Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Before the current city boundaries came into effect in 2001, this status was held by Lake Ramsey, also in Sudbury.
  Lake Enriquillo in Dominican Republic is the only saltwater lake in the world inhabited by crocodiles.
  Lake Bernard, Ontario, Canada, claims to be the largest lake in the world with no islands.
  The largest lake in one country is Lake Michigan, in the United States. However, it is sometimes considered part of Lake Michigan-Huron, making the record go to Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, in Canada, the largest lake within one jurisdiction.
  The largest lake on an island in a lake on an island is Crater Lake on Vulcano Island in Lake Taal on the island of Luzon, The Philippines.
  The northernmost named lake on Earth is Upper Dumbell Lake in the Qikiqtaaluk Region of Nunavut, Canada a
caption: The Caspian Sea is either the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea[note 1]
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