Largest Freshwater Lakes

It depends on your criteria. Freshwater lakes can be ranked by either the volume or surface area. Some of the large lakes by surface area are slightly shallow and do not hold a lot of water.

Lake Superior is the largest lake in North America and also the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area and the third-largest by volume. Its surface area is approximately 31,700 square miles. The lake is shared by the province of Ontario in Canada, and the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan in the US. Lake Superior has a volume of 2,900 cubic miles. The lake measures 350 miles long, 160 miles wide, and 483 feet deep on average. Although Lake Superior is the largest lake by surface area, by volume it ranks 3rd after lakes Baikal and Tanganyika.
Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is the second-oldest freshwater lake in the world, the second-largest by volume, and the second-deepest. It is the world's longest freshwater lake.

Lake Baikal is 6th by surface area, but the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, containing 22–23% of the world's fresh surface water. Baikal is the world's deepest lake. It is considered among the world's clearest lakes and is considered the world's oldest lake.