Top 10 largest lakes around the world that you might not be aware of

Lake Huron, located to the west of Michigan, USA, and to the east of Ontario, Canada, is one of the Great Lakes in North America. Its name was given by French explorers, referencing the Huron people who lived in the area. Lake Huron sits along the US-Canada border. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes, with a surface area of 23,010 square miles—almost the size of West Virginia, making it the third-largest freshwater lake on Earth. It holds 850 cubic miles (3,540 km³) of water and has a shoreline stretching 3,827 miles. The lake's surface sits 577 feet above sea level. Its average depth is 195 feet, and its maximum depth reaches 750 feet. Lake Huron is 206 miles long and 183 miles wide. Major cities along its shores include Bay City, Michigan; Alpena, Michigan; Cheboygan, Michigan; St. Ignace, Michigan; Port Huron, Michigan; Goderich, Ontario; and Sarnia, Ontario. A key feature of the lake is Manitoulin Island, which divides the North Channel and Georgian Bay from the main body of Huron. It is the world's largest freshwater island.

Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It borders the states of Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan from west to east. Due to its vast size, it's sometimes referred to as an inland sea. From the shore, it appears like a vast ocean with no visible opposite shore. Uniquely, it is the only Great Lake entirely within the United States, unlike the others which are shared with Canada. With a surface area of 22,400 square miles, Lake Michigan is also the largest freshwater lake in the United States. Its average depth is 85 meters, with the deepest point reaching 281 meters, holding up to 4,918 cubic kilometers of water. Annually, it plays a critical role in providing drinking water to millions of people living in neighboring regions. It is also a popular tourist destination for its breathtaking views, but it is infamous for its many mysterious disappearances of ships and planes.

Specifically, most incidents in the lake are concentrated in a triangular area, known as the 'Michigan Triangle,' often compared to the mysterious 'Bermuda Triangle' across the ocean, where numerous unexplained disappearances of ships and planes have been reported. The history of these disappearances dates back to the 15th century. According to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum, approximately 6,000 ships have sunk, at least 40 aircraft have vanished, and 30,000 people have lost their lives in this region.

Lake Tanganyika is a major lake in Africa, regarded as the second-largest freshwater lake in the world and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia. This lake spans four countries: Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Zambia, with the majority of the lake controlled by the Democratic Republic of Congo (45%) and Tanzania (41%). Water from the lake flows into the Congo River system, eventually reaching the Atlantic Ocean.

Located in the western part of the East African Rift Valley, Lake Tanganyika is bordered by the high cliffs of the rift. It is the largest rift lake in Africa, the second-largest lake on the continent, and the deepest in Africa, holding the greatest amount of freshwater. The lake stretches 673 km from north to south and averages about 50 km in width. Its surface area covers 32,900 square kilometers, with a shoreline of 1,828 km, and it reaches an average depth of 570 meters, with a maximum depth of 1,470 meters. Its estimated volume is 18,900 cubic kilometers. The average surface temperature of the lake is 25°C, with a pH of 8.4. At a depth of 500 meters, a layer of sediment approximately 4,500 meters thick lies on a rocky base.

Lake Tanganyika is home to at least 250 species of cichlid fish and 150 species of non-cichlid fish, most of which live along the lake’s shores in waters about 600 feet (180 meters) deep. As a result, Lake Tanganyika is a vital source for studying species formation and evolutionary processes. The central region of the lake hosts large populations of six key species, including two types of 'Tanganyika sardine' and four species of predatory lates fish. Remarkably, 98% of the lake’s cichlid species are endemic, with many, such as the brightly colored Tropheus species, highly valued by aquarium enthusiasts. The lake also contains many invertebrates, including mollusks, crabs, shrimp, swordtail animals, jellyfish, and leeches.

Nestled in the wild expanse of Siberia lies the vast Lake Baikal, a crescent-shaped body of water often referred to as the “Jewel of Russia.” It is the deepest freshwater lake in the world, with its deepest point reaching an astonishing 1,642 meters. Baikal holds the largest reserve of fresh water on Earth, containing approximately 20% of the world’s total freshwater supply—enough to meet the needs of the entire human population for 40 years. With an area of 31,722 square kilometers, Lake Baikal is considered a natural paradise, its surroundings maintaining a pristine beauty as if untouched by time.

The surface of Lake Baikal resembles a vast mirror, reflecting the majestic mountains and endless rows of birch trees. The lake’s crystal-clear, turquoise waters are so transparent that, even at depths of several dozen meters, the pebbles and creatures on the lakebed are visible. Baikal is home to an incredibly diverse range of flora and fauna, with over 2,500 species, two-thirds of which are found nowhere else on Earth. Among its most famous inhabitants are the Baikal seal (nerpa) and the unique Golomianka fish, which is transparent and gives birth to live young instead of laying eggs like most fish.

Scientists are still unsure of the exact age of Lake Baikal. Most estimates suggest that it is between 25 to 30 million years old, making it the oldest freshwater lake in the world. This would make Baikal far older than most lakes, as they typically only last 10,000 to 14,000 years before becoming bogged down with silt and transforming into marshes. Lake Baikal is steeped in mystery, with legends about its origins. One such tale suggests that the lake was formed when a meteorite struck the Earth, creating a massive crack that eventually became Lake Baikal.

Great Bear Lake is a vast lake located in Canada, with a surface area of about 31,153 square kilometers. It ranks as the fourth-largest lake in North America and the eighth-largest in the world. The lake drains into the Mackenzie River via the Great Bear River. The only community in the area is the Deline, with a population of just 525 people. Great Bear Lake remains completely frozen from late November to July each year. It features an ice road known as the Deline Ice Road, which is used for a few weeks annually to transport goods to the remote Deline community.

Situated between two significant geological regions—the Kazan Plateau of the Canadian Shield and the Interior Plains—Great Bear Lake was originally part of a pre-glacial valley, shaped by the erosive forces of ice during the Pleistocene. The lake's landscape has undergone numerous changes due to the effects of glacial melting. The Precambrian rocks of the Canadian Shield form the eastern shore of McTavish Arm, consisting of sedimentary and metamorphic layers, enriched by intrusive magmatic formations.

The Great Bear Lake Ice Road is an essential route for transporting supplies to the Deline community. This ice road operates for several weeks each year, with a speed limit of 70 kph, similar to the Tuktoyaktuk Ice Road. It is primarily used by pickup trucks, with a weight capacity of 64,500 kg. However, the ice road must close by the end of March due to rising temperatures.

Lake Malawi is one of the Great Lakes of Africa, located at the southern end of the East African Rift Valley. It is the third-largest lake in Africa, the eighth-largest in the world, and the second-deepest lake in Africa. The lake spans across three countries: Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Its tropical waters are home to more species of fish than any other freshwater body on the planet, including over 1,000 species of cichlids. The Mozambican government officially designated Lake Malawi as a protected area on June 10, 2011, to conserve one of the world’s largest and most biodiverse freshwater ecosystems.

Lake Malawi stretches 560 to 580 kilometers in length, with a width of up to 75 kilometers at its widest point. The total area of the lake is approximately 29,600 square kilometers. Its shores are located in western Mozambique, eastern Malawi, and southern Tanzania. The largest river flowing into the lake is the Ruhuhu River. The lake's southern outlet is the Shire River, a major tributary of the Zambezi River in Mozambique.

The lake is situated in the East African Rift Valley, formed by the tectonic splitting of the African plate into two parts. The age of Lake Malawi is estimated to be anywhere from 40,000 years to 1-2 million years old. It is located about 350 kilometers southeast of Lake Tanganyika.

Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in Canada's Northwest Territories, following Great Bear Lake, and the deepest lake in North America, with a depth of 614 meters. It ranks as the tenth-largest lake in the world by surface area. The lake stretches 469 kilometers in length and ranges from 20 to 203 kilometers in width. Its total area is 27,200 square kilometers, situated in the southern part of the Northwest Territories. The lake holds between 1,070 and 1,580 cubic kilometers of water, sometimes reaching as much as 2,088 cubic kilometers, making it one of the top 12 lakes in the world by volume.

The lake is named after the Slavey people, an indigenous group who once lived along its southern shore. Nearby towns include Yellowknife, Hay River, Behchoko, Fort Resolution, Lutselk'e, Hay River Reserve, Dettah, and N'Dilo. Lutselk'e, located in the East Arm, is the only community in the area, home to around 350 people, mostly Chipewyan natives of the Dene Nation. The area was once occupied by Fort Reliance, a Hudson Bay Company winter station. On the southern shore, you'll find the abandoned Pine Point Mine and the ghost town of Pine Point.

Great Slave Lake first appeared on European maps during the 18th century fur trade in the Hudson Bay region. Its name comes from the Slavey people, an Athapaskan tribe living along the southern shore at that time. French explorers who traded directly with Cree merchants named it "Grand lac des Esclaves", which was later anglicized as "Great Slave Lake".

The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water in the world, both in terms of surface area and volume. It spans 371,000 square kilometers with a volume of 78,200 cubic kilometers. Though it's called a sea, it is technically a lake because it has no connection to the ocean. The water is salty, with a salinity of about 1.2%, which is roughly one-third the salt concentration of seawater. The Caspian Sea borders five countries: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Iran, Russia, and Turkmenistan. The Volga River, Europe's longest river, is its primary inflow. Due to its proximity to major cities, the Caspian Sea is a prime location for tourism development.

The Caspian Sea is home to a significant population of sturgeon, known for their roe, which is processed into caviar. However, overfishing in recent years has severely threatened sturgeon populations, prompting environmentalists to push for a total ban on sturgeon fishing until the population can recover. Unfortunately, the high value of sturgeon caviar has led to widespread corruption, with fishermen bribing officials, rendering many regulations ineffective. Additionally, the harvesting of sturgeon eggs has further endangered the species, as it targets the reproductive females.

Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, although Lake Baikal in Siberia is larger by volume. It covers an area of 82,100 square kilometers—larger than the state of South Carolina. The lake stretches 563 kilometers in length and has a maximum width of 257 kilometers. Its average depth is 147 meters, with the deepest point reaching 406 meters. Lake Superior holds 12,232 cubic kilometers of water. The shoreline, including the islands, extends for 4,385 kilometers, and the lake sits 183 meters above sea level.

Lake Superior contains nearly 10% of the world’s fresh, unfrozen water. The lake is fed by seven major rivers from both the United States and Canada. It is also home to a number of communities that carry rich cultural traditions.

Lake Victoria covers an area of approximately 69,000 km², making it the largest lake in Africa and the third largest in the world. It is located at the borders of Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya. The primary water source for the lake is rainfall, supplemented by several smaller rivers and streams. Additionally, Lake Victoria is the source of the White Nile, one of the two main branches of the mighty Nile River. The lake is home to many small islands, which offer stunning views and are popular for tourism and relaxation. Surrounding the lake are historical sites, evidence of early agricultural activity by ancient human communities.

Lake Victoria was formed by a large fault near the equator, situated between the eastern and western sections of the Great Rift Valley. It is dotted with numerous small islands, including the famous Ssese Islands, known for their beautiful landscapes, making them a perfect destination for those seeking rest and scenic views. The area around the lake also hosts many prehistoric sites, indicating that ancient communities once thrived here with diverse agricultural practices.