Probably you have gotten used to seeing so much water to the extent that you get confused with the horizon when you go to the beach. In this post, RichUpdates have separated the 10 largest lakes in the world for you to discover new horizons to be explored, and for educational purposes, we have compiled the lists of the largest lakes in the world.
In any lake, you can spend a very entertaining family day, take a bath, have a picnic and definitely enjoy very special moments. If it is also one of these lakes, then the experience will be even more incredible.
The Greatest Lakes In the World
1 – Caspian Sea
This lake is the largest closed and inland water body in the world, as it has no connection with the ocean and does not flow into any other watercourse. The Caspian Sea passes through Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan. The main cities on the lake are Baku, in Arzebaijão; Turmenbachi, in Turkmenistan; Babol, in Iran and Atyrau and Aktau, in Kazakhstan. Its length is 1,200 km, and its maximum width is 450 km, the average depth of the lake is 180 meters, and the maximum is 1025. The sea also passes through 3 different climatic zones and is approximately 1.8 million years old.
2 – Lake Superior
The largest of the 5 Great Lakes in North America is also the largest lake in territorial extension in the world and the third in volume. Lake Superior is located between Ontario, Canada, and the states of Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin, in the United States. Its length is 563 km. Anyone visiting Superior can still take small cruises of up to 2 hours in length on the lake, in addition to special cruises with romantic dinner!
3 – Lake Victoria
Victoria Nyanza, as it is known in the Swahili language, is located in the western part of the Greater Rift Valley in West Africa and is the largest lake on the continent, with 68,870 square kilometers in length. The lake, which is cut across the equator, is bordered by the states of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It is also one of the sources of the Nile River, known as the White Nile. With a maximum depth of 83 meters and an average of 40, Lake Vitoria is 1133 meters high, and the lake is 320 km long and 275 km wide. Its jagged edges form peninsulas, bays, cables and more than 3,000 islands, most of which are uninhabited.
4 – Lake Huron
This lake is also one of the 5 Great Lakes in North America, but it lies between the state of Michigan, in the United States, and Canada. It is the second largest in the Great Lakes and one of the largest in the world in territorial extension. Lake Huron still has an incredible experience for those who visit it, as it was used as a route for schooners and small boats in the 17th century, it houses numerous shipwrecks in its waters. The most notable of them can be visited by boat, where travelers can take dives to observe its practically intact structure!
5 – Lake Michigan
The only one of the 5 Great Lakes of North America that lies completely within the borders of the United States is limited by the states of Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. Lake Michigan is the largest freshwater lake in the USA, its maximum depth is 281 meters and is 580 feet above sea level, forming with Lake Huron a single body of water. On its shores, the lake still houses nature parks such as the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and the Hiawatha National Forest and Manistee National Forest reserves.
6 – Lake Tanganyika
The second largest lake in Africa is shared by Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Zambia, on the western side of the Rift Valley. Tanganyika is the longest lake in the world, not counting the Caspian Sea, with 673 km in length and an average width of 50 km. The maximum depth of this lake is 1,470 meters, and its banks are home to 4 protected areas: the Rusizi Nature Reserve in Burundi, the Gombe Stream National Park, the Mahale Mountains National Park in Tanzania and the Nsumbu National Park, in Zambia.
7 – Lake Baikal
The largest freshwater lake in Asia is in southern Siberia, between Irkutsk Oblast and Buryatia, Russia. It is also considered the oldest lake in the world, around 25 million years old and the deepest on Earth, 1,680 meters deep. Lake Baikal is 80km wide and 636 km long, accounting for 20% of the planet’s liquid freshwater. Those who visit this giant can still enjoy activities such as trekking, fishing and jeep tours.
8 – Great Bear Lake
Canada’s largest lake consists of 26 islands and is 31,153 square kilometers long, with a maximum depth of 446 kilometers. The waters of Lago do Urso are extremely cold and the ice that covers its entire length during 8 of the 12 months of the year forms a road that facilitates the movement to the islands. The Great Lake of the Bear flows into the southwest side of the Great Bear River, which is a tributary of the Mackenzie River.
9 – Lake Niassa
This million-year-old giant lake is located in the Rift Valley, between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, and is 560 km long, 80 km wide and a maximum depth of 700 meters. In addition to being the third largest lake in the African region, it is still the only lake in the world with its own biogeographic province, with more than 400 species of freshwater fish. Because it is in an area with a tropical climate, the lake still has another curious feature with its warmer surface than its deepest layer, as it undergoes stratification. Lake Niassa is still protected by the Ramsar Convention, and its southern part in Lake Malawi National Park is still a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
10 – Great Slave Lake
Considered the second largest lake in Canada, its main entrances are the River Hay and the River Slave. Its surface is 27,200 square kilometers, with a length of 480 km by 109 km wide and a maximum depth of 614 meters, with an average of 41 meters. The lake is also close to Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, one of Canada’s three territories; Fort Providence, a village south of the Northwest Territories; and south of the town of Hay River. Anyone visiting the Great Lake can also stop by the Fort Resolution community, which is on its shores and is the oldest documented community in the Northwest Territories.
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