Largest Lake in the World

Lakes are places of serene beauty. Personally, I love sitting by the shore of a lake, contemplating life and being totally at peace with myself. So, I visit lakes quite often and wonder what it would be like to sit on the shores of the largest lake in the world. Imagine an almost endless expanse of water stretching before you in all directions.

If you recall your geography lessons from school, a lake is a landlocked mass of water. That is, it's contained by land from all sides. The word 'Largest' is vague. By 'Largest Lake', one could mean the largest by water volume or by surface area. Then there is one more distinction which is of freshwater or saline water.

The Caspian Sea (Unarguably the Largest)

By all criteria, which includes the one with largest volume of water and largest surface area, the largest natural lake in the world is Caspian sea. Yes the biggest lake is a sea. I am sure that this is surprising, for all those of you who read this for the first time, but it's a fact. With an average 18,761 cubic miles (78,200 cubic kilometers) of water and a total surface area of 143,244 square miles (371,000 square kilometers), the Caspian sea is technically and unarguably, the biggest lake in the entire world. Its salinity is about 1.2 %, which is about one third of the salinity of most seas in the world. This sea, which qualifies as a lake, has a maximum depth of 1,025 meters (3,363 feet). It is what the geologists call an endoheric basin, that is, there are no outflows from this lake.

It is surrounded by Iran in the North, Russia in the South, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in the West and Azerbaijan in the East. The Caspian Sea, along with the Black Sea, is the remnant of an ancient ocean called the 'Paratethys Sea'. Research in Geology has revealed, that the Caspian sea became landlocked, that is, became a lake about 5.5. million years ago because of a tectonic uplift (a lift in the crust of Earth) and subsequent fall in sea level. According to a Greek historian Strabo, its name 'Caspian' is supposed to have been derived from the Sanskrit word 'Kashyapa', which was the name of an ancient Indian Sage. The Caspian Sea was also known by the name of Qazvin on ancient maps and is known as Darya-e-Mazandaran or Darya-e-Khazar in Persian.

Lake Baikal (Largest By Freshwater Volume)

However if one adds an essential necessity to a lake, which is it being 'Freshwater/non-saline', then the biggest lake on Earth, with a water volume of 5,518 cubic miles (23,000 cubic kilometers), is 'Lake Baikal', situated in Siberia, Russia. It is also the deepest lake and the oldest freshwater lake (age: 25-30 million years) in the world, with a maximum depth of 1,285 meters. It is also one of the most transparent lakes in the world. It holds about 20% of the total freshwater on the Earth. It is situated near the city of Irkutsk in Siberia and is known as the 'Pearl of Siberia'. It is home to about 1550 species and varieties of animals, as well as 852 species of algae. The lake is fed by 300 rivers and drained through a single outlet, which is the Angara river.

Lake Michigan - Huron (Largest By Surface Area)

If one looks for the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, with 45,410 square miles (1,17,600 square kilometers), it turns out to be the combined lake system of Lake Michigan - Huron. Though they are traditionally considered to be separate lakes, they are actually a single water body, connected by the 'Straits of MacKinac'. They both are part of the North American Great Lakes. These lakes were formed from the melting of glaciers, from the last ice age.

Just thinking about such gargantuan amounts of freshwater, makes me thirsty. Hope you enjoyed reading this article about the greatest lakes in the world, as much as I enjoyed writing it.