What is the largest lake entirely above the Arctic Circle?

Lake Taymyr is the largest lake entirely above the Arctic Circle.

Located on Russia’s Taymyr Peninsula in northern Siberia, the lake covers roughly 4,560 square kilometres. It lies at about 74° north latitude, well inside the Arctic Circle, whose latitude is approximately 66.5° north. Its broad, shallow basin is surrounded by Arctic tundra.

Lake Taymyr freezes for much of the year, typically from autumn into late spring or early summer. The lake’s outflow is the Lower Taymyra River, which eventually reaches the Kara Sea. Its waters support cold-adapted fish such as loach, muksun, and sig.

A common mix-up is Great Bear Lake: it is the largest lake partly within the Arctic Circle and is much larger overall, but it is not entirely north of the circle. Lake Ladoga and Lake Inari are also far to the north, yet both lie south of the Arctic Circle.