Largest Lake in South America
Considering the surface area of the lake, Lake Maracaibo is the largest lake in South America covering the area of 13,210 km² and approximately 5,678 km shore length. It is located at northern Venezuela from where the 55Km long Tablazo Strait connects it with the Gulf of Venezuela. The maximum length of this lake is 99 km (62 miles) and the maximum width is 67 km (42 miles). Because of the location of this lake and the salinity of water in it, it is known as brackish bay; a natural water reservoir having higher salinity as of fresh water but less then seawater. The history of this Lake Maracaibo goes back more than 30 million years, when it is believed to be a completely landlocked water body. So it is regarded as the oldest natural lake in the world.
However, because of direct connection of Lake Maracaibo with the sea and the water salinity in it, this lake is often not included in the lost of lakes. This makes Lake Titicaca to be the largest lake in South America. This lake is located on the border line of Peru and Bolovia with the surface area of 8,135 km2. Even with Lake Maracaibo in the rankings, Lake Titicaca is the biggest lake in South America in terms of water volume having 893 km3 of fresh water in it coming from 27 different rivers. The maximum length of Lake Titicaca is 190 km (118 miles) while the width goes max to 80 km (50 miles). It is also the highest navigable lake in the world.
