Highest elevation lakes & reservoirs in 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 2151 articles we have published for lakes.
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Below are lakes within Compared by highest altitude/elevation in feet. This list does not represent all lakes in , only the 2151 lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Elevation in feet |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Shasta Lake, CA (California, Shasta Cascade Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
1,076 ft | Shasta Lake, one of the largest lakes in California, is an outdoor paradise of fresh blue water, awe-inspiring caverns, investigative trails, first cl … |
| Cherokee Lake, TN (East Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
1,075 ft | Also known as Cherokee Reservoir Cherokee Lake: Artists stop at Clinch Mountain Overlook to paint it, and photographers to photograph it, and every year millions of people come from a … |
| Brassua Lake (Maine, Maine Highlands Region, ME, US New England Region, USA) |
1,073 ft | Also known as Little Brassua Lake-historic Sprawling across almost 9,000 acres of the Maine Highlands Region, Brassua Lake is actually little known. The large reservoir was created in 1925 when … |
| Cahora Bassa (Mozambique, Tete Province Region, Mozambique) |
1,073 ft | Cahora Bassa is likely one of the best fishing destinations on the African continent. This relatively young reservoir was formed when the Cahora Bassa … |
| Swinging Bridge Lake, NY (Catskills Region, NY, New York, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
1,070 ft | Also known as Swinging Bridge Reservoir Swinging Bridge Lake is a Catskills lake located in southern Sullivan County, New York and was formed by the damming of the Mongaup River in 1926 for … |
| Lake of the Woods, MN / Canada (Canada, Manitoba, Canada, Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,062 ft | Spanning the border from Minnesota into the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, Lake of the Woods is an enormous body of water over 68 miles l … |
| W. Kerr Scott Reservoir, NC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
1,057 ft | Also known as W. Kerr Scott Lake W. Kerr Scott Reservoir is a 1,475-acre reservoir located near Wilkesboro, North Carolina in the Mountains tourism region. Built by the U.S. Army Corp … |
| Lake Sylvia, MN (Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Region, MN, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,051 ft | Also known as West Lake Sylvia, East Lake Sylvia, Twin Lake, Greater Lake Sylvia The kayaker slips into the water a paddles slowly out into West Lake Sylvia. It is barely light, and there is no one awake but the fishermen and loons … |
| Lake Thunderbird, OK (Frontier Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
1,049 ft | Also known as Thunderbird Reservoir, Thunderbird Lake No place could be better suited to recreation than Oklahoma’s Lake Thunderbird. Located in the Frontier Country Region, Lake Thunderbird provides recr … |
| Moses Lake, WA (North Central Washington, US West Region, USA, Washington) |
1,048 ft | Located where Washington State’s Pacific coast transforms into the arid desert of the eastern half, Moses Lake has over 6,800 acres of surface area en … |
| Pleasant Hill Lake, OH (Northeast Ohio, Ohio, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,047 ft | Also known as Pleasant Hill Reservoir Crisp clean air, glistening blue water, and miles of picturesque nature describe the majestic beauty of Pleasant Hill Lake. Located near Perrysville, … |
| Kaw Lake, KS/OK (Kansas, Oklahoma, Red Carpet Country, OK, South Central Kansas, US Midwest Region, US Southwest Region, USA) |
1,044 ft | Also known as Kaw Reservoir Kaw Lake is a large lake covering an area of 17,000 acres. Its three fingerlike “arms” lie in two midwestern states, Oklahoma and Kansas. Kaw Lake is … |