Largest lakes & reservoirs in Arizona by acres
There is no widely-accepted minimum surface area that defines a lake. What LakeLubbers describes as a lake, you might call a pond. Acreage of a lake (or sometimes square kilometers) is most often measured at the top surface area when the lake is at normal elevation. The surface area can be considerably smaller or larger when lake levels are lower or higher than normal. North America’s Lake Superior is the world’s largest freshwater lake by this measure.The other measure of a lake’s size is the lake’s water volume. By that measure, the world’s largest freshwater lake is Lake Baikal in Siberia.
You can find many of the world’s largest lakes (acres) on LakeLubbers in the comparison table below. Note: For some lakes, "Largest Lakes - Acres" data is unknown or does not apply, so you may see fewer lakes than the total 24 articles we have published for Arizona lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Southwest Region > Arizona > Compared by surface area in acres. This list does not represent all lakes in Arizona, only the 24 Arizona lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Surface area in acres |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Powell, AZ/UT (Arizona, Canyonlands Region, UT, Color Country, UT, North Central Arizona, US Southwest Region, US West Region, USA, Utah) |
160,800 ac | Lake Powell is located in one of Southern Utah’s most picturesque red-rock desert areas and in Arizona’s Navajo Indian Reservation. It is one of the U … |
| Lake Mead, AZ/NV (Arizona, Las Vegas Territory, NV, Nevada, US Southwest Region, US West Region, USA, West Coast Region, AZ) |
157,900 ac | Lake Mead is the USA’s largest man-made reservoir in amount of water it can hold. Although Lake Powell is marginally larger in acreage at full-pond, L … |
| Lake Mohave, AZ/NV (Arizona, Las Vegas Territory, NV, Nevada, US Southwest Region, US West Region, USA, West Coast Region, AZ) |
28,260 ac | Lake Mohave is a man-made reservoir on the Colorado River that spans 28,260 acres. It is a part of the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, and was cre … |
| Roosevelt Lake, AZ (Arizona, North Central Arizona, US Southwest Region, USA) |
21,493 ac | Also known as Theodore Roosevelt Lake, Lake Roosevelt With 21,500 acres at full pond and 128 miles of shoreline, Roosevelt Lake is the largest body of water contained entirely within Arizona; the larger L … |
| Lake Havasu, AZ/CA (Arizona, California, Desert Region, CA, US Southwest Region, US West Region, USA, West Coast Region, AZ) |
20,400 ac | Lake Havasu’s 20,400 acres, formed behind Parker Dam on the Colorado River, is a boating paradise. Around Lake Havasu City, the most recognizable sigh … |
| San Carlos Lake, AZ (Arizona, North Central Arizona, US Southwest Region, USA) |
19,500 ac | San Carlos Lake is on the San Carlos Apache Native American Reservation in north-central Arizona. With 19,500 surface acres of water when full, San Ca … |
| Lake Pleasant, AZ (Arizona, North Central Arizona, US Southwest Region, USA) |
9,222 ac | Also known as New Lake Pleasant One of the finest water recreation areas in Arizona, Lake Pleasant is true to its name – a pleasant oasis in a desert setting. Lake Pleasant’s 9,200 s … |
| Mormon Lake, AZ (Arizona, Northern Arizona, US Southwest Region, USA) |
7,680 ac | Mormon Lake is a natural lake and part of Arizona’s Coconino National Forest, which spreads 1,821,495 acres across Northern Arizona pines, plateaus, a … |
| Alamo Lake, AZ (Arizona, US Southwest Region, USA, West Coast Region, AZ) |
3,000 ac | Alamo Lake is an outdoor person’s wonderland with great fishing, a unique Sonoran desert landscape and a plethora of desert animals. Wildlife viewing … |
| Bartlett Lake, AZ (Arizona, North Central Arizona, US Southwest Region, USA) |
2,815 ac | Also known as Bartlett Reservoir When driving across Arizona, it is always an amazing experience to come upon a lake. With the desert landscape surrounding the water, the lake jumps o … |
| Horseshoe Reservoir, AZ (Arizona, North Central Arizona, US Southwest Region, USA) |
2,800 ac | Horseshoe Reservoir, in the Arizona Central Region, is a seldom-visited surprise. Horseshoe Lake, as it is often called, was created in 1946, when a d … |
| Apache Lake, AZ (Arizona, North Central Arizona, US Southwest Region, USA) |
2,568 ac | Surrounded by the stark and rugged beauty of Central Arizona’s Superstition Wilderness in the Tonto National Forest, Apache Lake is the perfect destin … |