List of lakes by area

This is a pair of lists of terrestrial lakes with a surface area of more than approximately 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 sq mi), ranked by area,[1][2][3] excluding reservoirs and lagoons.

This list therefore excludes seasonal lakes such as Kati Thanda–Lake Eyre (maximum area 9,500 km2, 3,700 sq mi), Mar Chiquita Lake (Córdoba) (maximum area 6,000 km2, 2,300 sq mi), Lake Torrens (maximum area 5,745 km2, 2,218 sq mi) and Great Salt Lake (maximum area, 1988, 8,500 km2, 3,300 sq mi).

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.

[9][10][11][12][13] Following are conventionally identified lakes larger than 3,000 km2 (1,200 sq mi) in area.

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