Important Lakes of the World

Important Lakes of the World:

Lake is a body of water surrounded by land. Lakes are water bodies with slow-moving, or standing water that are occupied in an inland basin. Here we discuss some important lakes all over the world with their continent, basin countries, area, and maximum depth.

List of important lakes of the world

Many lakes are found all over the world that are important in their aspects; a list of important lakes in the world is given below:

Caspian Sea:

(An Oceanic lake- also called Mazandaran Sea, Hyrcania Sea, or Khazar Sea)

The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland body of water, and the world’s largest lake. The lake is situated east of the Caucasus Mountains, west of the steppe of Central Asia. South of the plains of Southern Russia in Eastern Europe, and North of the Mountainous Iranian Plateau of Western Asia.

Some important facts about the Caspian Sea:

• Continent: Eurasia
• Area: 371, 000 Km²
• Maximum depth: 1025 m
• The Caspian Sea is Bounded by Kazakhstan from mid-north to mid-east, Russia from mid-west, Azerbaijan to the southwest, Iran to the South, and Turkmenistan along with southern parts of its eastern coast.
• The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest Salt Lake (Brackish)
• Volga river system and Ural river (several rivers) drain into it.

Basin countries of the Caspian Sea:

The basin countries of the Caspian Sea are the Border countries – Kazakhstan, Iran, Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkmenistan, and non-border countries- Armenia, Georgia, Turkey Uzbekistan.

Maracaibo (Bay Lake)

Maracaibo is a large brackish tidal bay situated in Venezuela. The Maracaibo lake is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by the Tablazo strait.  The lake is an inlet of the Caribbean Sea.

• The Maracaibo lake is a major shipping route to the ports of Maracaibo and Cabimas.
• The important river Catatumbo.
• Lake Maracaibo is one of the world’s richest petroleum-producing regions.

Lake Michigan – Huron

Lake Michigan-Huron is a water body consisting of lake Michigan and Lake Huron joined through the 5-mile-wide open water strait of Mackinac.

Important facts about Lake Michigan-Huron:

• Continent: North America
• Surface area: Huron- 59,600 km^2, 
• Area: Michigan- 58,000 km²
• The lake is considered a single lake hydrologically.
• The combined lake Michigan – Huron is the largest freshwater lake by area in the world.
• Basin Countries: USA, Canada

Note: Lake Superior is larger than either individually, so Lake Superior is counted as the largest freshwater lake in the world when Lake Huron and Lake Michigan are considered separately.

Lake Superior

Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area if Lake Michigan and Huron are considered separate lakes. The lake is the third-largest by volume.

Important facts about Lake Superior

• Continent: North America
• Area: 82,100 km²
• Maximum depth: 406.3m
• Countries with the shoreline of Lake Superior: Canada, USA.
• Lake Superior empties into Lake Huron.
• Lake Superior is fed by more than 200 rivers, some major rivers are the Nipigon river, St. Louis River, the Pigeon River, the Pic River, the White River, the Michipicoten River, etc.
• The largest island in Lake Superior is Isle Royale in Michigan.

Lake Victoria

Lake Victoria is the largest lake by area in Africa. It is named after Queen Victoria. The countries with shorelines of Lake Victoria: Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania

Important facts about lake Victoria:

• Continent: Africa
• Surface area: 68,870 km²
• Maximum depth: 84m
• Lake Victoria is the world’s largest tropical lake.
• World’s second-largest freshwater lake by surface after Lake Superior in North America.
• The only outflow from Lake Victoria is the Nile River, which exits the lake near Jinja, Uganda.

Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika is the longest freshwater lake in the world and the third-largest lake by volume.

Important facts about lake Tanganyika:

• Continent: Africa
• Surface area: 32,600 km²
• Maximum depth: 1470m
• Lake Tanganyika is shared between four countries- Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Burundi, and Zambia.
• The lake is the largest rift lake in Africa.
• It is the deepest lake in Africa.

Some Important Islands in Lake Tanganyika:

• Kavala Island (DRC)
• Mamba-kayenda Island (DRC)
• Milima Island (DRC)
• Kibishie Island (DRC)
• Mutondwe Island (Zambia)

Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal is the deepest freshwater lake in the world. By volume, it is the largest freshwater lake in the world.

Important facts about Lake Baikal:

• Continent: Asia
• Area: 31,500 km²
• Maximum depth: 1637m
• The lake is an ancient and continental rift lake.
• Country: Russia
• The largest freshwater lake in Asia and the deepest lake in the world.
• Lake Baikal contains 27 islands, Olkhon is the third-largest lake-bound island in the world.
• The lake is fed by 330 inflowing rivers, some important are; Selenga, the Barguzin, Upper Angara, the Turka, and the Sarma.

Lake Great Bear

The great bear lake is the largest lake in Canada, situated in the boreal forest of Canada, it is also the largest lake situated within the Arctic Circle. It is a glacial-type lake.

Important facts about Lake Great Bear:

• Continent:  North America
• Area: 31,000 km²
• Maximum depth: 446m

Rivers flowing into Great Bear Lake include the Whitefish River, Big Spruce River, Haldane River, Bloody River, Sloan River, etc.

Malawi (Lake Nyasa)

Lake Malawi is situated between Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. It consists of more species of fish than any other lake in the world. It is a rift valley lake.

Important facts about Lake Nyasa:

• Continent: Africa
• Area: 29,500 km²
• Maximum depth: 706m
• Lake Nyasa is famous for more species of fish than any other lake in the world.

Lake Great Slave

The lake is the deepest lake in North America. It is the tenth-largest lake in the world. The Great Slave Lake is a glacial lake. Its basin country is Canada. The lake is drained by the Makenzie River.

Important facts about Lake Great Slave:

• Continent: North America
• Are: 27,000 km²
• Maximum depth: 614m
• Great Slave lake consists of an ice road known as the Dettah ice road.
• It is a 6.5 km (4.0 mi) road that connects the Northwest Territories capital of Yellowknife to Dettah.

Lake Balkhash

Lake Balkhash is one of the largest lakes in Asia. It is situated in the east of Central Asia in South-eastern Kazakhstan. The lake is an endorheic (closed) basin.

Important facts about Lake Balkhash:

• Continent: Asia
• Area: 16,400 km²
• Maximum depth: 26m
• Basin countries of Lake Balkhash: Kazakhstan, China

Lake Vostok

Lake Vostok is the largest lake in Antarctica and is a subglacial rift lake. It is located at the southern pole of Cold, beneath the Russian Vostok Station under the surface of the central East Antarctic Ice Sheet.

Important facts about Lake Vostok:

• Continent: Antarctica
• Area: 12,500 km²
• Maximum depth: 900-1000m
• The largest lake in Antarctica
• It is a freshwater lake under the surface of an ice sheet.

Lake Onega (Onego)

Lake Onega is the second-largest lake in Europe. The lake is located in north-western Russia. It belongs to the Baltic Sea.

Important facts about lake Onega:

• Continent: Europe
• Area: 9,700 km²
• Maximum depth: 127m
• Lake Onega is of glacial–tectonic origin.

Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca is the highest navigable lake in the world. It is the largest freshwater lake in South America. Titicaca is a mountain lake (Andes).

Important facts about Lake Titicaca:

• Continent: South America
• Area: 8,372 km²
• Maximum depth: 281m
• Basin countries: Peru, Bolivia

Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada

Lake Nicaragua is a freshwater lake in Nicaragua. It drains to the Caribbean Sea via the San Juan River. Nicaragua is a rift lake.

Important facts about lake Nicaragua:

• Continent: North America
• Area: 8,264 km²
• Maximum depth: 26m

Lake Turkana also known as Lake Rudolf

Lake Turkana is located in the Kenyan rift valley, in Northern Kenya and goes through Ethiopia. The lake is the largest permanent desert lake in the world. The lake is considered as saline, monomictic, alkaline, endorheic lake.

Important facts about lake Turkana:

• Continent: Africa
• Area: 6,405 km²
• Maximum depth: 109m
• World’s largest alkaline lake

Reindeer lake

The lake is in Canada. It is a glacial lake.

• Continent: North America
• Are: 6,330 km²
• Maximum depth: 337m

Aral Sea

The Aral Sea was an endorheic lake between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.  The Aral Sea is disappearing and drying on large scale. (It was the fourth-largest lake in the world).

Lake Tana

Lake Tana is the largest lake in Ethiopia and the source of the Blue Nile. Lake Tana was formed by volcanic activity, blocking the course of inflowing rivers in the early Pleistocene.

Great Salt Lake

The Great Salt Lake is the largest Salt Lake in the Western Hemisphere. It is the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world.

The Great Salt Lake is located in Utah, United States. The lake is endorheic and hypersaline.

Lake Peipus

Lake Peipus is the largest transboundary lake in Europe.

Basin countries: Estonia, Russia

You can also read:

• Lakes of India
• RAMSAR- Wetland Sites in India
• Major waterfalls of India
• Major straits of the world

Thank you 🙂