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List of lakes by area

List of lakes by area is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand List of lakes by area rather than just read about it. In short: Following are two lists of terrestrial lakes that have surface areas of more than approximately 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 mi2), ranked by area, excluding reservoirs and lagoons. The area of some lakes can vary over time, either seasonally or from year to year.

List of lakes by area — main illustration
List of lakes by area — illustration

Key takeaways

  • List of lakes by area belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect List of lakes by area to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of List of lakes by area from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Following are two lists of terrestrial lakes that have surface areas of more than approximately 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 mi2), ranked by area, excluding reservoirs and lagoons. The area of some lakes can vary 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 9,500 km2, 3,700 sq mi), Mar Chiquita Lake (Córdoba) (maximum area 6,000 km2, 2,300 sq mi), Chott el Djerid (up to 7,000 km2, 2,700 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 list is divided in two: all lakes as conventionally defined down to 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 mi2), 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 3,000 km2 (1,200 sq mi) in area.

Source for the 20 largest lakes (and their areas):

Geological list Following are the dozen largest lakes under geological definitions, down to 17,500 km2 (6,800 sq mi) in area.

See also

List of lakes by volume List of lakes by depth List of largest lakes of Europe Recursive islands and lakes Aral Sea, formerly the third largest lake in the world, with an area of 68,000 km2 (26,300 sq mi) Lake Chad, formerly the eleventh largest lake in the world, with an area of 26,000 km2 (10,000 sq mi) Lake Urmia, formerly with an area of 5,200 km2 (2,000 sq mi), but down to a tenth that size in 2017. It has since increased in area under a restoration project. List of largest lagoons List of largest lakes and seas in the Solar System

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

Notes

References

Further reading Largest lakes of the former USSR, Water Quality Assessment of the Former Soviet Union (1998). ISBN 0419239200. North America: Physical features, The New York Times Guide to Essential Knowledge (2011). ISBN 0312643020.

External links "Large Lakes of the World". FactMonster. Pearson Education.

Illustrations

List of lakes by area: Dymaxion world map with the 15 largest lakes roughly to scale
Dymaxion world map with the 15 largest lakes roughly to scale
List of lakes by area illustration
List of lakes by area illustration
List of lakes by area illustration
List of lakes by area illustration

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with List of lakes by area

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what List of lakes by area claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to List of lakes by area before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about List of lakes by area ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of List of lakes by area

In research
List of lakes by area appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses List of lakes by area in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
List of lakes by area is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Lists by area, Lists of lakes, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for List of lakes by area outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study List of lakes by area in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what List of lakes by area means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain List of lakes by area out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is List of lakes by area in simple terms?

Following are two lists of terrestrial lakes that have surface areas of more than approximately 3,000 square kilometres (1,200 mi2), ranked by area, excluding reservoirs and lagoons. The area of some lakes can vary over time, either seasonally or from year to year.

Why does List of lakes by area matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study List of lakes by area?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on List of lakes by area.

Tags

  • Lists by area
  • Lists of lakes

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