Lakes
Major lakes, their volumes and their condition.
Once the fourth largest lake in the world, now largely gone. The Aral Sea is the most complete environmental collapse ever caused by water diversion, and the standing warning against irrig…
The deepest and oldest lake in the world, holding roughly a fifth of all unfrozen surface fresh water on Earth — more than all the North American Great Lakes combined.
The largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, and the largest of the North American Great Lakes, which together hold about a fifth of the world’s surface fresh water.
The largest tropical lake in the world and the source of the White Nile, shared by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.
The largest enclosed inland body of water on Earth. Saline and endorheic, it is technically a lake, and its legal classification as sea or lake has real consequences for resource rights am…
The largest lake in the British Isles by area and the source of around 40% of Northern Ireland’s drinking water. Severe cyanobacterial blooms since 2023 have made it the most prominent UK …