 :::Oop, I just removed that claim from the Aral Sea page. My understanding is that in its natural state Tulare Lake's area varied over a wide range seasonally and from year to year. Not to say that Tulare lake shouldn't be said to be the (formerly) largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi (in the United States, don't forget to mention!), but that perhaps something should be said of its variable size. During some years and seasons I suspect it was not as large as, say, Flathead Lake.   