Lake Kariba is the world’s largest artificial lake by volume.
The reservoir lies along the Zambezi River on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe. It was formed after construction of Kariba Dam, with the lake filling between 1958 and 1963 as the Kariba Gorge was flooded. The reservoir stores roughly 180 cubic kilometres of water and covers about 5,580 square kilometres.
Lake Volta is the usual source of confusion: it has the greater surface area, while Kariba holds more water because it is deeper and has a much larger storage volume. The Three Gorges Reservoir and Lake Nasser are also among the world’s largest artificial reservoirs, but neither surpasses Kariba by volume in the standard rankings.
The dam supports major hydroelectric generation for Zambia and Zimbabwe. Its creation displaced people and transformed the Zambezi valley. The immense weight of the stored water has also been associated with induced seismic activity in the region, which is naturally earthquake-prone.