Largest lakes & reservoirs in Canada by water volume
The estimated volume of water that a lake contains is measured at the lake’s normal elevation. By this measure, the world’s largest freshwater lake is Siberia’s Lake Baikal.Water Volume can be measured in acre-feet, in cubic miles, or in cubic kilometers. One acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre (43,560 square feet) to a depth of one foot. One cubic mile equals 3,379,200 acre-feet. One cubic kilometer equals 810,713 acre-feet. 1 acre-foot is equal to 325,851 US gallons. Siberia’s Lake Baikal contains about 6,276,367,740,000,000 gallons of freshwater – nearly 1 million gallons for every living person on earth.
The other – and more widely used – measure of a lake’s size is the lake’s surface acreage. By that measure, the world’s largest freshwater lake is North America’s Lake Superior.
Note: In the United States, an acre foot is a unit of volume used to refer to large-scale bodies of water. It is defined by the volume of water needed to cover 1 acre of surface area to a depth of 1 foot.
You can find many of the the world’s largest lakes (by water volume) on LakeLubbers. Note: For some lakes, the water volume data is unknown or does not apply, so you may see fewer lakes than the total 164 articles we have published for Canada lakes.
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Below are lakes within Canada > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in Canada, only the 164 Canada lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name | Water vol. in ac-ft | Lake description |
---|---|---|
Maligne Lake (Alberta, Canada, Canada) |
642,247 ac-ft | With a name derived from the French word for wicked or evil, Alberta’s Maligne Lake (pronounced muh-leen) offers a contradictory scenic and serene fac … |
Lake Massawippi, QC (Canada, Quebec, Canada) |
604,928 ac-ft | (Also known as Massawippi Lake, Lac Massawippi) Lake Massawippi is a 4,448-acre recreational wonderland in southern Quebec near the Vermont border. It has a maximum depth of 281 feet and an average … |
Mazinaw Lake (Canada, Ontario, Canada) |
555,339 ac-ft | (Also known as Upper Mazinaw Lake, Lower Mazinaw Lake) Amazing Mazinaw Lake holds court as the headwaters of Canada’s Mississippi River in eastern Ontario. This beautiful sprawling lake has alternately del … |
Qu’Appelle Lakes (Canada, Saskatchewan, Canada) |
445,999 ac-ft | (Also known as Fishing Lakes, Calling Lakes) Qu’Appelle? Yes, the name of a group of four popular Southern Saskatchewan lakes is a French question. Qu’Appelle Lakes, also known as the Fishing Lak … |
Charleston Lake (Canada, Ontario, Canada) |
353,309 ac-ft | A natural haven awaits vacationers in Eastern Ontario along the shores of Charleston Lake. Balanced along the eastern edge of the Frontenac Arch geolo … |
Sylvan Lake (Alberta, Canada, Canada) |
334,014 ac-ft | Sylvan Lake is located midway between Alberta’s two largest cities, Calgary and Edmonton, and 12 miles northwest of Red Deer. This natural lake covers … |
Lake Nipissing, ON (Canada, Ontario, Canada) |
311,319 ac-ft | Located in the Near North region of Ontario, Lake Nipissing is the fifth largest lake in Ontario excluding the Great Lakes. This relatively shallow 21 … |
Kennisis Lake (Canada, Ontario, Canada) |
270,159 ac-ft | A true jewel in the crown of Ontario’s Cottage Country, 3500-acre Kennisis Lake has been the prefect vacation getaway for generations of Canadian cott … |
Lake Osoyoos, WA / Canada (British Columbia, Canada, Canada, North Central Washington, US West Region, USA, Washington) |
266,800 ac-ft | (Also known as Osoyoos Lake) Lake Osoyoos spans more than 5,700 acres and straddles the border of British Columbia, Canada and Washington state in the United States. The Okanagan … |
Trout Lake ON (Canada, Ontario, Canada) |
229,189 ac-ft | Located in Ontario’s Nipissing District, Trout Lake has everything to offer the northwoods adventurer looking for water-based activities. Often oversh … |
Wood Lake, BC (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
161,737 ac-ft | Surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery in the interior of British Columbia, Canada, Wood Lake is a 2,224-acre lake in a chain of five major rec … |
Alouette Lake (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
161,048 ac-ft | (Also known as Alouette Reservoir, Lillooet Lake (historic)) Only an hour away from big-city Vancouver, Alouette Lake provides a wilderness experience and a mountain view of beautiful Golden Ears Provincial Park … |