This is a pair of lists of terrestrial lakes with a surface area of more than approximately 3000 km2, ranked by area, excluding reservoirs and lagoons. The area of some lakes can vary considerably over time, either seasonally or from year to year. This is especially true of salt lakes in arid climates. This list therefore excludes seasonal lakes such as Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre (maximum area 9500 km2), Mar Chiquita Lake (Córdoba) (maximum area 6000 km2), Lake Torrens (maximum area 5745 km2) and Great Salt Lake (maximum area, 1988, 8500 km2). The list is divided in two: all lakes as conventionally defined down to 3000 km2, and the largest lakes under a geological definition, where the Caspian Sea is considered a small ocean rather than a lake, and Lake Michigan–Huron (or "Huron–Michigan") is recognized as a single body of water. The Caspian Sea is conventionally considered the world's largest lake, but it is centered on an oceanic basin (a fragment of the ancient Tethys Ocean) rather than lying entirely over continental crust as all other lakes do. Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are conventionally counted as separate lakes, but hydrologically they are a single body of water, which is the world's largest lake by surface area.

Conventional list

Following are conventionally identified lakes larger than 3000 km2 in area. Source for the 20 largest lakes (and their areas):

Geological list

Following are the dozen largest lakes under geological definitions, down to 17500 km2 in area.

Notes and references

Note: Lake areas may slightly vary depending on the sources.