The size of lakes is measured by square miles of surface area. Based on this, the Caspian Sea, with a surface area of 143,000 square miles, is by far the largest lake in the world. Its shores touch several countries including Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, and Iran.
Lake Superior is the second largest lake in the world and the largest lake in North America, despite having some of its shoreline in Canada. This is the best place to enjoy the water in each state.
Lake Superior covers 31,700 square miles and touches the states of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, as well as the Canadian province of Ontario. It contains 10% of the world’s surface fresh water – enough to cover North and South America under a foot of water. Its deepest point is 1,276 feet below the surface.
Lake Superior is well known for its many shipwrecks, the most famous being the 1975 wreck of the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald during a storm that killed all 29 crew members. A total of about 350 wrecks are on record.
For decades, the lake was used to transport iron ore south from Minnesota. Though not as bad as Lake Erie, Lake Superior has started to experience algae blooms, indicating that pollution has begun affecting even this large and once-pristine lake. These are America’s 50 dirtiest cities.
Click here to see the largest lake in America
20. Rainy Lake
> Location(s): MN-Ontario
> Area: 345 sq. miles
[in-text-ad]
Source: Yunpeng Li / iStock via Getty Images
19. Salton Sea
> Location(s): California
> Area: 347 sq. miles
Source: By USACE photographer - http://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/html/Lake_Proj/fortpeck/images/LCoverlook1.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15761914
18. Fort Peck Lake 1
> Location(s): Montana
> Area: 393 sq. miles
Source: By U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - http://www.public-domain-image.com/public-domain-images-pictures-free-stock-photos/nature-landscapes-public-domain-images-pictures/lake-public-domain-images-pictures/lake-at-junction-of-selawik-river-and-ingruksuk-river.jpg, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24909918
17. Selawik Lake
> Location(s): Alaska
> Area: 404 sq. miles
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: By Andrew Filer / FLICKR
16. Red Lake
> Location(s): Minnesota
> Area: 427 sq. miles
Source: Brian Sevald / iStock via Getty Images
15. Lake St Clair
> Location(s): MI-Ontario
> Area: 430 sq. miles
[in-text-ad]
Source: Public Domain / Wikimedia Commons
14. Becharof Lake
> Location(s): Alaska
> Area: 453 sq. miles
24/7 Wall St.
Source: cmart7327 / iStock via Getty Images
13. Lake Champlain
> Location(s): NY-VT-Quebec
> Area: 490 sq. miles
Source: By Naawada2016 / Wikimedia Commons
12. Lake Sakakawea 1
> Location(s): North Dakota
> Area: 520 sq. miles
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: Art Wager / E+ via Getty Images
11. Lake Pontchartrain
> Location(s): Louisiana
> Area: 631 sq. miles
Source: 6381380 / iStock via Getty Images
10. Lake Okeechobee
> Location(s): Florida
> Area: 662 sq. miles
[in-text-ad]
Source: By Unknown author or not provided - U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80298753
9. Lake Oahe 1
> Location(s): ND-SD
> Area: 685 sq. miles
24/7 Wall St.
Source: By Dev Dharm Khalsa / NPS - NPGallery, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=82461932
8. Iliamna Lake
> Location(s): Alaska
> Area: 1,014 sq. miles
Source: Wildnerdpix / iStock via Getty Images
7. Lake of the Woods
> Location(s): MN-Manitoba-Ontario
> Area: 1,485 sq. miles
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: beccarie / iStock via Getty Images
6. Great Salt Lake
> Location(s): Utah
> Area: 2,117 sq. miles
5. Lake Ontario
> Location(s): NY-Ontario
> Area: 7,340 sq. miles
[in-text-ad]
Source: sdominick / iStock via Getty Images
4. Lake Erie
> Location(s): MI-NY-OH-PA-Ontario
> Area: 9,910 sq. miles
Source: yongyuan / Getty Images
3. Lake Michigan
> Location(s): IL-IN-MI-WI
> Area: 22,300 sq. miles
Source: grandriver / E+ via Getty Images
2. Lake Huron
> Location(s): MI-Ontario
> Area: 23,000 sq. miles
[in-text-ad-2]
Source: natem0001 / iStock via Getty Images
1. Lake Superior
> Location(s): MI-MN-WI-Ontario
> Area: 31,700 sq. miles
Buffett Missed These Two…
Warren Buffett loves dividend stocks, and has stuffed Berkshire with some of his favorites.
But he overlooked two dividend legends that continue to print checks on a new level, they’re nowhere in his portfolio.
Unlock the two dividend legends Buffett missed in this new free report.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Editors' Picks
