Lake Superior the Soo Locks. Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world in area (if Lakes Michigan and Huron are taken separately; "see Lake Michigan–Huron"), and the third largest in volume, behind Lake Baikal in Siberia and Lake Tanganyika in East Africa. The Caspian Sea, while larger than Lake Superior in both surface area and volume, is brackish; though presently isolated, prehistorically the Caspian has been repeatedly connected to and isolated from the Mediterranean via the Black Sea. Lake Superior has a surface area of , which is approximately the size of South Carolina or Austria. It has a
Lake Hamana Lake Hamana The lake has an area of 65.0 km² and holds 0.35 km³ of water. Its circumference is 114 km. At its deepest point, the water is 16.6 m deep. The surface is at sea level. Lake Hamana is a commercial source of cultivated Japanese eel, "nori", oysters and Chinese soft-shelled turtles. Fishers take sea bass, whiting, and flounder, among others. The lake has been developed as a resort area, with boating as a feature. In ancient times, Lake Hamana was a freshwater lake. However, a great earthquake in 1498 altered the topography of the area and connected the