Deepest lakes & reservoirs in Southern Illinois 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 10 articles we have published for Southern Illinois lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Illinois > Southern Illinois > Compared by maximum depth in feet. This list does not represent all lakes in Southern Illinois, only the 10 Southern Illinois lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Max depth in feet |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Devils Kitchen Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
90 ft | Also known as Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge Devils Kitchen Lake is one of three lakes (the other two are Crab Orchard Lake and Little Grassy Lake) that are part of the Crab Orchard National Wild … |
| Kinkaid Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
80 ft | Kinkaid Lake is a scenic 2,350-acre reservoir surrounded by sandstone bluffs and rolling hills of oaks and hickories on the edge of the Shawnee Nation … |
| Little Grassy Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
77 ft | Surrounded by watchful forest trees and open grasslands, the Little Grassy Lake is a quiet body of water sitting in the middle of a Southern Illinois … |
| Lake of Egypt, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
52 ft | She settles herself into the kayak and pushes away from the shore. The small boat cuts through the fog rising from the surface of the lake, and she tu … |
| Cedar Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
40 ft | Cedar Lake is located at the edge of the Shawnee National Forest in southern Illinois. This 1,750-acre reservoir was created by the City of Carbondale … |
| East Fork Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
36 ft | Also known as East Fork Reservoir East Fork Lake, in the Southern Region of Illinois, is a well-kept secret in a land of many secrets. The southern third of Illinois has been known as … |
| Rend Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
35 ft | Rend Lake, located in southern Illinois, is a fantastic place to enjoy all sorts of outdoor recreational activities. This reservoir, the second larges … |
| Forbes Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
31 ft | What started as a humble two acre lake in a twenty acre park has grown into one of southern Illinois’ best fishing lakes and a great family destinatio … |
| Crab Orchard Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
25 ft | Crab Orchard Lake is the largest of three reservoirs that are part of the 43,899-acre Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge in southwestern Williamson … |