Highest elevation lakes & reservoirs in Alabama by altitude
While lake levels can flucuate frequently based on several circumstances, the altitude/elevation of a lake is based on its normal water level, measured by the lake’s surface distance above sea level. For a reservoir, this water level is also known as “full pond” or “full pool”.Low lake levels can occur due to deliberate seasonal draw downs for irrigation or impending snow melt, reduced water inflows, drought and evaporation, residential or commercial water demands, and hydropower generation. Some lakes’ minimum and maximum elevations are virtually the same. Lakes that generate hydropower may vary by several feet – according to power demand. Lakes whose primary purpose is to prevent flooding can seasonally vary by 100 feet or more. When some lakes reach their minimum elevation, their boat ramps may not be long enough to permit boat access – and boats docked on shallow parts of the lake may end up on dry ground. In those cases, kayakers and shore-based anglers may be among the few happy recreational users of the lake.
A lake’s highest water level, measured by the lake’s surface distance above sea level, that can occur during flooding. A lake’s highest possible maximum elevation is usually the top of the lake’s dam or spillway. At lakes that include residential development, government regulations usually forbid the construction of homes below a lake’s maximum elevation.
You can find many of the world’s highest-elevated lakes on LakeLubbers. Lakes with the lowest elevations (known by LakeLubbers) are shown on the final page of that list. Note: For some lakes, "Altitude/Elevation" data is unknown, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 32 articles we have published for Alabama lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US South Region > Alabama > Compared by highest altitude/elevation in feet. This list does not represent all lakes in Alabama, only the 32 Alabama lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Elevation in feet |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| West Point Lake, AL/GA (Alabama, Georgia, Metropolitan Region, AL, Presidential Pathways Region, GA, US South Region, USA) |
641 ft | West Point Lake, located on the Alabama-Georgia border just north of I-85, stretches 35 miles along the Chattahoochee River. The 25,900-acre reservoir … |
| Little Bear Creek Reservoir, AL (Alabama, Mountains Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
637 ft | Also known as Little Bear Reservoir Little Bear Creek Reservoir, located 13 miles southwest of Russellville in Franklin County in the Mountains Region of northwestern Alabama, is a 1,560 … |
| Lewis Smith Lake, AL (Alabama, Mountains Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
522 ft | Also known as Smith Lake Lewis Smith Lake is a perfect place for an outdoor adventure. Tucked into a corner of the Bankhead National Forest in northern Alabama’s Mountain Regi … |
| Pickwick Lake, AL/MS/TN (Alabama, Hills Region, MS, Mississippi, Mountains Region, AL, Tennessee, US South Region, USA, West Tennessee) |
407 ft | Also known as Pickwick Reservoir Pickwick Lake is a 43,100-acre reservoir created by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) with construction of Pickwick Landing Dam across the Tennesse … |
| Lake Oliver, AL/GA (Alabama, Georgia, Presidential Pathways Region, GA, River Heritage Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
337 ft | Located in west central Georgia in the Presidential Pathways region, Lake Oliver is a 2,150-acre lake that has one shoreline in Georgia and the other … |
| Warrior Lake, AL (Alabama, Metropolitan Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
121 ft | Also known as Warrior Reservoir Warrior Lake is part of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Lake system located in the diverse Metropolitan Tourism Region of Alabama. Six miles southeast of … |