Largest lakes & reservoirs in Southern Minnesota 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 9 articles we have published for Southern Minnesota lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Minnesota > Southern Minnesota > Compared by surface area in acres. This list does not represent all lakes in Southern Minnesota, only the 9 Southern Minnesota lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Surface area in acres |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Pepin, MN/WI (Minnesota, Mississippi-Chippewa Rivers Region, WI, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
25,600 ac | Lake Pepin is the largest lake on the Mississippi River, formed about 9,500 years ago by the backup of water behind sediments where the Chippewa River … |
| Lake Onalaska, MN/WI (Minnesota, Mississippi-Chippewa Rivers Region, WI, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
7,688 ac | Lake Onalaska is a popular year-round recreation destination on the upper Mississippi River, located between La Crosse, Wisconsin and La Crescent, Min … |
| Lac qui Parle, MN (Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
6,400 ac | Thousands of feathered creatures gather here, nesting, breeding and chattering about things only birds would know about. For the myriad sounds the bir … |
| Lake Shetek, MN (Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
3,598 ac | Located near the southwestern corner of the state, Lake Shetek is one of the best known of Minnesota Southern Region Lakes. Shetek means pelican in th … |
| Albert Lea Lake (Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,685 ac | Hikers wake up to the sun filtering through the trees and the chirping of indigo buntings and eastern bluebirds at Albert Lea Lake in southern Minneso … |
| Okamanpeedan Lake, IA/MN (Iowa, Minnesota, Northwest Iowa, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,294 ac | Also known as Tuttle Lake Located in Martin County, Minnesota and Emmet County, Iowa, Okamanpeedan Lake is also known as Tuttle Lake. Okamanpeedan is Native American for “nesti … |
| Lake Washington, MN (Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,487 ac | Lake Washington is a uniquely-shaped body of water situated just northeast of the Mankato Regional Airport, in Minnesota’s Southern tourism region. Wh … |
| Madison Lake, MN (Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,113 ac | Madison Lake is a natural, freshwater lake situated in Minnesota’s Blue Earth County. It is a rather large lake, with a surface area of 1,113 acres an … |
| Fountain Lake (Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
521 ac | Fountain Lake is a sparkling 521-acre southern Minnesota lake, featuring three prominently-placed water fountains. Its shores surround the city of Alb … |