Three of the World's Most Major Lakes

1. Lake Superior (North America): Largest freshwater lake by surface area (82,100 km²); third by volume. Borders Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan.
2. Lake Baikal (Russia/Siberia): World's deepest lake (1,642 m) and largest by volume (23,600 km³), holding ~20% of Earth's unfrozen freshwater.
3. Lake Tanganyika (Central Africa): Second deepest (1,470 m) and second largest by volume. Borders Burundi, DRC, Tanzania, Zambia.

These three represent superlatives in area, depth, and volume, and are critical biodiversity hotspots.