More than 300 rivers drain into Siberia's Lake Baikal, which holds 20 percent of the world's fresh water, more than all the North American Great Lakes combined.

(A) More than 300 rivers drain into Siberia's Lake Baikal, which holds 20 percent of the world's fresh water, more than all the North American Great Lakes combined.
(B) With 20 percent of the world's fresh water, that is more than all the North American Great Lakes combined, Siberia's Lake Baikal has more than 300 rivers that drain into it.
(C) Siberia's Lake Baikal, with more than 300 rivers draining into it, it holds more of the world's fresh water than all that of the North American Great Lakes combined, 20 percent.
(D) While more than 300 rivers drain into it, Siberia's Lake Baikal holds 20 percent of the world's fresh water, which is more than all the North American Great Lakes combined.
(E) More than all the North American Great Lakes combined, Siberia's Lake Baikal, with more than 300 rivers draining into it, holds 20 percent of the world's fresh water.

What does "more than all the North American Great Lakes combined" modifies - "300 rivers" or "20 percent of ... fresh water"

Why option E is wrong?

"More than all the North American Great Lakes combined" modifies "20 percent of the world's fresh water."

Think of it this way: "more than" must describe an amount of water, not a source of water. That's why "more than...." cannot modify "300 rivers."

Incidentally, (E) is wrong for a similar reason. "More than all the North American Great Lakes combined" modifies "Siberia's Lake Baikal." The lake might hold an amount of water that is more than another amount of water, but the lake itself is not "more than" something.

_________________
Emily Sledge
Instructor
ManhattanGMAT