Lake Superior is the largest, coldest, and deepest (the average depth is 482 feet) of the five Great Lakes. Lake Erie is the warmest and shallowest of the five Great Lakes. Lake Ontario is the smallest of the five Great Lakes.
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Lake Superior is the world's largest freshwater lake by area (31,700 mi2 /82,100 km2). It is also the coldest and deepest of the Great Lakes, with a maximum depth of 406 meters (1,332 feet). By most measures, it is the healthiest of all the Great Lakes.
Situated in south-east Siberia, the 3.15-million-ha Lake Baikal is the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1,700 m) lake in the world. It contains 20% of the world's total unfrozen freshwater reserve.
The deepest lake in the UK is Loch Morar, Scotland at 310m depth. This is 80m deeper than Loch Ness, the second deepest lake in the UK and deeper than the height of the Shard, the highest building in London. The largest lake by perimeter length in the UK is Loch Awe, Scotland at 41km.
Lake Superior's beaches are open and safe for swimming over 90% of the time, and the water is extremely clear, with an average underwater visibility of 8.3 m (27 ft).
The water in the Great Lakes is owned by the general public according to the Public Trust Doctrine. The Public Trust Doctrine is an international legal theory – it applies in both Canada and the United States, so it applies to the entirety of the Great Lakes.
Lake Erie is the shallowest, warmest, and most productive of the Great Lakes. Three distinct basins provide a variety of offshore habitats. The Detroit River, Maumee River, and smaller tributaries drain into the western basin, which averages 24 feet deep and contains extremely nutrient-rich water.
Kielder water is the largest man-made reservoir in Europe, holding 200 billion litres of water. It took about 20 years to think through all of the challenges of this construction project before construction even started, making it one of the most complex schemes in the UK.
So what is the difference between a loch and a lake? Well, the main distinction is where they are located. Lochs can be found in Scotland and Ireland whilst lakes are found elsewhere in the world. This is because the word 'loch' comes from the Gaelic languages which were historically used in these parts of Britain.