What is the largest body of freshwater by volume?

Lake Superior is the largest body of fresh water with a surface area of about 82,103 square Km, however Baikal in Siberia has a greater volume of water. Lake Baikal holds 5,700 cu mi, while Lake Superior holds 2,800 cu mi. Baikal is also the world's most ancient freshwater lake, it originated 20-25 million years ago. It is home to many unique species of animals and plants including the freshwater seal. Lake Baikal is one of the clearest and purest bodies of water.

Thus while a few lakes, such as Lake Superior would appear to be larger from a bird's eye view, Lake Baikal in fact holds more fresh water than any other lake in the world. Lake Baikal has a depth of 1, 642m, while Lake Superior has a depth of 406m. Looks can be deceiving.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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38 Comments

tdelisi

Dr. Bhoomz, Dr?? They told you the correct answer, in the answer. Did you read the answer to the end? Volume detects the amount of water contained within the overall dimensions, inclusive of the depth of the container. Therefore, viewing only the surface dimensions (perimeter) of the lake, is not sufficient in determining volume. Two coffe cups may have the same diameter but one might be deeper than the other and thereby hold more coffee. The depth (and other variables) must be considered.

tdelisi

barbphifer, It is not a trick question as it asks about the VOLUME and not the surface area. Questions which require critical thinking are not tricks. They are merely questions which expect the responder to think.

Jim Hubbard

Barbara Schwartz, not exactly "easily be misleading". It can trip up those who don't read the whole question before answering. Reading comprehension seems to be an issue across the country, where headlines/titles are scanned with at most a cursory scan of the body of the article before a comment is left.

Clarence Felzien

Dr. Bhoomz, lake bakau is four times deeper.

Tom Seigo

The key word in this quiz is "VOLUME"!!!

Ike Hinlo Caceres

I remember having encountered this question earlier.

Eileen Dunn

I put Lake Superior,I now know it’s the largest by area not the volume.

Lynne Zeman

Good Q & A. The volume and depth was key so I rightly guessed Russia.

Chris Braid

A good question. I knew that Baikal was the deepest so took a (correct) punt!

Dudley John Piggott

Hi Tdelisi, a very good explanation to Dr Bhoomz. There is often confusion between surface area and volume ( use both every day in my profession) but I would have expected someone who has a Dr as a title would have no problem with this.

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weathernco

...but it is shrinking .... so it is hard to say for certain

Kaveri Bharath

By some fluke, I remembered studying about Lake Baikal having the largest amount of freshwater in any single place on Earth, in my 5th grade, (which was over 3 decades ago!) I guess that my Random Access Memory is working!

ronhoepp

Great question, I love facts like this.

Simon Hodson

The question refers to the largest volume of fresh water, not the largest lake. The Antarctic ice sheet is a far larger volume and even though it is frozen, it is still water.