This list below includes both freshwater and saltwater lakes. Some important points to note:
# There is a particular argument ongoing as to whether the Caspian Sea is the biggest lake in the World, or the smallest sea.
# Lake Maracaibo is often considered a bay, but it is almost fully enclosed by land.
# If counted separately, Lake Huron and Lake Michigan would be the third and fourth largest lakes in the World, and Lake Superior would be second, and would assume the mantle of the World's largest freshwater lake from Michigan-Huron.
# Lake Vostok is the largest subglacial lake in the World, being completely covered by the Antarctic ice sheet
# Lake Titicaca is the largest mountain lake in the World.
# If it were a natural lake, Lake Volta (8,503 sq km / 3,283 sq miles) would be at number 18 in the chart below. Situated in Ghana, it is currently the World's largest reservoir, by total surface area.
# The only saltwater lakes included on the list below, are Lake Balkhash, the Caspian Sea and Lake Maracaibo.