Arrange the following lakes in correct descending order of their area using the codes given below : 1) Great Bear 2) Baikal 3) Victoria 4) Superior Codes :

The correct answer is A: Lake Superior (4) > Lake Victoria (3) > Lake Baikal (2) > Great Bear Lake (1).

Why A is right: Superior, on the US-Canada border, is the largest of these at about 82,100 sq km. Victoria, shared by Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, is about 68,800 sq km. Baikal in Siberia has a surface area of roughly 31,500 sq km, and Great Bear Lake in Canada's Northwest Territories is about 31,150 sq km. Baikal is marginally larger, so it ranks above Great Bear. Sources differ slightly on these two, which is why this pair is the tricky part.

• Option B puts Baikal above Victoria, which is wrong because Victoria is more than twice Baikal's area.
• Option C places Victoria above Superior, reversing the top two.
• Option D puts Great Bear above Superior and Victoria, ignoring the scale of the two largest lakes.

Core concept: comparing world lakes by surface area, along with their type (glacial, tectonic, rift). For Mains, Baikal's status as the world's deepest and largest freshwater lake by volume links to GS-I geography and freshwater resources.

Trap: Baikal and Great Bear are close in area, and aspirants often decide on fame or depth rather than the numbers. Remember that Baikal's surface area is slightly larger.