Deepest lakes & reservoirs in California by maximum depth (ft)
The estimated greatest depth of the water in a lake can be measured at the lake’s normal elevation. If the water volume and surface area of a lake are known, an estimate of the lake’s average depth can be calculated:Water volume ÷ Surface Area = Average Depth
Example: 1,000,000 acre-feet ÷ 20,000 acres = 50 feet average depth.
You can find many of the the world’s deepest lakes on LakeLubbers. If you sort the list, you will find the (maximum depth of) the shallowest lakes in our database. Note: For some lakes, lake depth data is unknown, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 75 articles we have published for California lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US West Region > California > Compared by maximum depth in feet. This list does not represent all lakes in California, only the 75 California lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Max depth in feet |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Crowley Lake (California, High Sierra Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
126 ft | Also known as Long Valley Reservoir, Lake Crowley Crowley Lake is known for excellent trout fishing in California’s High Sierras region. Before construction of the Long Valley Dam in 1941, few trout e … |
| Pine Mountain Lake, CA (California, Gold Country Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
100 ft | Pine Mountain Lake is a private lake and community in Tuolomne County California. With amenities that include a golf course, restaurant and stables op … |
| Bass Lake, CA (California, High Sierra Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
100 ft | Also known as Crane Valley Reservoir Snuggled into the heart of the Sierra National Forest and located at the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park, Bass Lake enjoys an ideal Califo … |
| Topaz Lake, CA/NV (California, High Sierra Region, CA, Nevada, Renoe-Tahoe Territory, NV, US West Region, USA) |
92 ft | Also known as Topaz Reservoir Topaz Lake is a man-made reservoir located on the border of Nevada and California, about 75 miles south of Reno, Nevada. The reservoir was built on th … |
| Mammoth Lakes (California, High Sierra Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
90 ft | Mammoth Lakes, in California’s High Sierras Region, is something of a misnomer. There is no lake named Mammoth. Instead, a group of small lakes southw … |
| Lake Almanor, CA (California, Shasta Cascade Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
90 ft | One of the largest artificial lakes in the state, Lake Almanor lays claim to approximately 28,000 acres of northeastern California. The lake was creat … |
| Bucks Lake, CA (California, Shasta Cascade Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
90 ft | A peregrine falcon, perched in the top of a silvery, windswept pine, watches a sailboat tack back and forth across the clear cool water of Bucks Lake. … |
| Lake Tulloch, CA (California, Gold Country Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
80 ft | Also known as Tulloch Lake An impoundment of the Stanislaus River, Lake Tulloch is part of a much larger water system and provides water for both irrigation and recreation. With … |
| Copco Lake, CA (California, Shasta Cascade Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
75 ft | Copco Lake is tucked snugly away into the mountainous country of northern California’s Shasta Cascade region. The region, named after the indigenous S … |
| Lake Havasu, AZ/CA (Arizona, California, Desert Region, CA, US Southwest Region, US West Region, USA, West Coast Region, AZ) |
75 ft | Lake Havasu’s 20,400 acres, formed behind Parker Dam on the Colorado River, is a boating paradise. Around Lake Havasu City, the most recognizable sigh … |
| Big Bear Lake, CA (California, Inland Empire Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
72 ft | Located just 100 miles from Los Angeles but wrapped in an entirely different environment, Big Bear Lake is both convenient and escapist. Surrounded by … |
| Lewiston Lake, CA (California, Shasta Cascade Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
65 ft | A great blue heron intent on catching fish for his breakfast stands undisturbed as a canoe glides by, holding an angler with the same idea. With nothi … |