Deepest lakes & reservoirs in USA 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 1644 articles we have published for USA lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > Compared by maximum depth in feet. This list does not represent all lakes in USA, only the 1644 USA lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Max depth in feet |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Crater Lake, OR (Oregon, Southern Oregon, US West Region, USA) |
1,943 ft | Crater Lake is on the crest of the Cascade Range in southern Oregon, about 100 miles from the ocean, and is the centerpiece of Crater Lake National Pa… |
| Lake Tahoe, CA/NV (California, High Sierra Region, CA, Nevada, Renoe-Tahoe Territory, NV, US West Region, USA) |
1,645 ft | Tucked into the Sierra Nevada Mountains and straddling the California-Nevada state line, Lake Tahoe is one of the most famous lakes in the United Stat… |
| Lake Chelan, WA (North Central Washington, US West Region, USA, Washington) |
1,486 ft | From the Salish Indian word for “deep notch”, Lake Chelan is the third deepest lake in the United States with a maximum depth of almost 1500 feet. Lak… |
| Lake Superior (Canada, Great Lakes of North America, Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, Michigan, Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, Wisconsin) |
1,332 ft | Skipping over state and country borders, Lake Superior, the largest, deepest, coldest, cleanest, least developed, and most pristine of the Great Lakes… |
| Lake Pend Oreille, ID (Idaho, Northern Idaho, US West Region, USA) |
1,152 ft | Also known as Albeni Falls Dam Set in a valley carved by glaciers from Canada, Lake Pend Oreille (pond-a-RAY) is surrounded by mountains with altitudes exceeding 6,000 feet. Its 85,… |
| Lake Clark, AK (Alaska, Southwest Region, AK, US West Region, USA) |
1,056 ft | Lake Clark is located about 150 miles southwest of Anchorage in southern Alaska. The lake spans 128 square miles, making it the seventh* largest fresh… |
| Tustumena Lake, AK (Alaska, Southcentral Region, AK, US West Region, USA) |
950 ft | Alaska has 17,243 square miles of inland water including both lakes and rivers. The area of inland water is greater than the land mass of Massachusett… |
| Lake Michigan-Huron (Canada, Chicagoland Region, IL, Great Lakes of North America, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Michigan Region, WI, Michigan, North Indiana, Northeast Michigan, Northwest Michigan, Ontario, Canada, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, West Central Michigan, Wisconsin) |
923 ft | Lake Michigan and Lake Huron – two of North America’s Great Lakes – are contiguous and they share the same elevation of 577 feet above sea level. They… |
| Lake Michigan (Chicagoland Region, IL, Great Lakes of North America, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Michigan Region, WI, Michigan, North Indiana, Northwest Michigan, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, West Central Michigan, Wisconsin) |
923 ft | As the only Great Lake nestled completely within the boundaries of the United States, Lake Michigan is the pride and joy of Wisconsin, Illinois, India… |
| Iliamna Lake, AK (Alaska, Southwest Region, AK, US West Region, USA) |
900 ft | Also known as Lake Iliamna Iliamna Lake, also known as Lake Iliamna, is the largest lake in Alaska and the second largest freshwater lake contained wholly within the United Stat… |
| Lake Ontario (Canada, Finger Lakes Region, NY, Great Lakes of North America, Greater Niagara Region, NY, New York, Ontario, Canada, Thousand Islands Region, NY, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
802 ft | Lake Ontario, one of the world’s five Great Lakes, weaves over state and country borders, delighting Americans, Canadians, and visiting tourists with… |
| Katmai Crater Lake (Alaska, Southwest Region, AK, US West Region, USA) |
800 ft | Little known and seldom seen, Katmai Crater Lake is an example of nature’s handiwork at its most impressive. Located on the Alaskan Peninsula within K… |
