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 |
|---|---|---|
| Enid Lake, MS (Hills Region, MS, Mississippi, US South Region, USA) |
272 ft | Enid Lake, located in northern Mississippi’s Hill Region, is about an hour’s drive south of Memphis, Tennessee. Originally designed for flood control, … |
| Stave Lake and Hayward Lake (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
269 ft | Also known as Stave Reservoir, Hayward Reservoir Stave Lake and Hayward Lake are reservoirs located about an hour east of Vancouver in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley. Managed by BC Hydro, these lak … |
| Jordan Lake, NC (North Carolina, Piedmont Region, NC, US South Region, USA) |
261 ft | Also known as B. Everett Jordan Reservoir, New Hope Lake Jordan Lake, initially called New Hope Lake, is a 13,940-acre reservoir in central North Carolina’s Piedmont region, part of the Upper Cape Fear River … |
| Derwentwater (England, England's Northwest Region, United Kingdom) |
251 ft | Also known as Derwent Water, Derwentwater Lake, The Lake District Cumbria, in northwest England, is home to Lake District National Park, established in 1951. All of the land in England that exceeds an elevation of 3, … |
| Arkabutla Lake, MS (Hills Region, MS, Mississippi, US South Region, USA) |
244 ft | Arkabutla Lake, a popular vacation destination located on the Scenic Loop 304 in Mississippi, is less than a half hour drive from Memphis. Over 2 mill … |
| Choke Canyon Lake, TX (South Texas Plains Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
241 ft | Also known as Choke Canyon Reservoir Located 65 miles south of San Antonio, Choke Canyon Lake was impounded in 1982 to supply drinking water to Corpus Christi on the Gulf Coast of Texas. … |
| Grenada Lake, MS (Hills Region, MS, Mississippi, US South Region, USA) |
237 ft | Grenada Lake, located northeast of Grenada in Mississippi’s Hill Region, is the largest body of water lying completely within the state. With 35,820 a … |
| Lake Camanche, CA (California, Gold Country Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
235 ft | Also known as Camanche Reservoir Lake Camanche is situated on the border of Calaveras and Amador Counties in California’s Gold Country tourism region. These two counties played influe … |
| Maranacook Lake (Kennebec & Moose River Valleys Region, ME, Maine, US New England Region, USA) |
218 ft | Maranacook Lake, a 1,673-acre freshwater body of very irregular shape, is located in Kennebec County, Maine. The lake borders the town of Readfield on … |
| Lake Conroe, TX (Piney Woods Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
207 ft | Houstonians often enjoy weekend getaways at Lake Conroe, a beautiful manmade lake in the Piney Woods region of eastern Texas. Lake Conroe is home to n … |
| Lake Gaston, NC/VA (North Carolina, Piedmont Region, NC, Southern Virginia Region, US South Region, USA, Virginia) |
202 ft | Lake Gaston covers 20,300 acres along 34 miles of Virginia and North Carolina real estate. The lake was created in 1963 by the Virginia Electric and P … |
| China Lake (Kennebec & Moose River Valleys Region, ME, Maine, US New England Region, USA) |
195 ft | China Lake is less than 20 miles northwest of Augusta, Maine’s state capital. This natural freshwater glacial lake rests in Kennebec County in southwe … |