Largest lakes & reservoirs in 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 2151 articles we have published for lakes.
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Below are lakes within Compared by surface area in acres. This list does not represent all lakes in , only the 2151 lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Surface area in acres |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Round Valley Reservoir, NJ (New Jersey, Skylands Region, NJ, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
2,350 ac | Round Valley Reservoir spans 2,350 acres in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The reservoir fills the valley formed by the ring-shaped Cushetunk Mountain, … |
| Lac de Joux (Switzerland, Vaud Region, Switzerland) |
2,348 ac | Switzerland’s Lac de Joux is located high up in the Jura Mountains in the Canton of Vaud. Located at an altitude of nearly 3300 feet, Lac du Joux is i … |
| Arbuckle Lake, OK (Arbuckle Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
2,346 ac | Also known as Lake of the Arbuckles, Lake Arbuckles, Lake Arbuckle, Arbuckle Reservoir Oklahoma’s Chickasaw National Recreation Area draws over three and a half million visitors a year and their main attraction is Lake of the Arbuckles. … |
| Herrington Lake, KY (Bluegrass Region, KY, Kentucky, US South Region, USA) |
2,335 ac | Meandering 32 miles across the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky is Herrington Lake. The first large impoundment in Kentucky, Herrington Lake was created i … |
| Lake Arapuni, New Zealand (New Zealand, North Island, NZ, Waikato Region, North Island, NZ) |
2,323 ac | In Maori one of the meanings of “ara puni” is “blocked path” making Arapuni Lake an appropriate name for the man made reservoir on the North Island of … |
| Lake of Egypt, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,300 ac | She settles herself into the kayak and pushes away from the shore. The small boat cuts through the fog rising from the surface of the lake, and she tu … |
| 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 … |
| Yellow Lake, WI (Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
2,287 ac | Every lake boasts about the size of their fish, but Yellow Lake in Burnett County of northwest Wisconsin doesn’t need to boast. It has the record to p … |
| Vancouver Lake (Southwest Washington, US West Region, USA, Washington) |
2,286 ac | Lying serenely in the Southwest Region of Washington state, Vancouver Lake provides a quiet respite from the cities of Vancouver, Washington and its n … |
| Lake Pillsbury, CA (California, North Coast Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
2,280 ac | Surrounded by the Mendocino National Forest and approachable only by gravel roads, Lake Pillsbury in Lake County, California is an exciting destinatio … |
| Chouteau Lock and Dam, OK (Green Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
2,270 ac | Also known as Chouteau Lock and Dam 17 The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System (MKARNS) has 18 locks and dams along its 445-mile waterway. Chouteau Lock and Dam is one of them, … |
| Kabekona Lake, MN (Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,252 ac | They start almost every day this way, sitting on the deck, and watching the loons glide across Kabekona Lake. When they were ready to retire they knew … |