where is the largest amount of fresh water found
Fresh water Out of all the water on Earth, saline water in oceans, seas and saline groundwater make up about 97% of it. Only 2.5–2.75% is fresh water, including 1.75–2% frozen in glaciers, ice and snow, 0.5–0.75% as fresh groundwater and soil moisture, and less than 0.01% of it as surface water in lakes, swamps and rivers.[2][3] Freshwater lakes contain about 87% of this fresh surface water, including 29% in the African Great Lakes, 22% in Lake Baikal in Russia, 21% in the North American Great Lakes, and 14% in other lakes. Swamps have most of the balance with only a small amount in rivers, most notably the Amazon River. The atmosphere contains 0.04% water.[4] In areas with no fresh water on the ground surface, fresh water derived from precipitation may, because of its lower density, overlie saline ground water in lenses or layers. Most of the world's fresh water is frozen in ice sheets. Many areas suffer from lack of distribution of fresh water, such as deserts.
Lake Baikal Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, containing 22–23% of the world's fresh surface water.[3][6][7] With 23,615.39 km3 (5,670 cu mi) of fresh water,[1] it contains more water than the North American Great Lakes combined.[8] With a maximum depth of 1,642 m (5,387 ft),[1] Baikal is the world's deepest lake.[9] It is considered among the world's clearest[10] lakes and is considered the world's oldest lake[11] – at 25–30 million years.[12][13] It is the seventh-largest lake in the world by surface area.