Largest lakes & reservoirs in Minnesota 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 116 articles we have published for Minnesota lakes.
Thinking about booking a Minnesota lake vacation home rental, cabin or hotel?
Use our free interactive vacation rental map to search and compare multiple vacation properties at a glance. Enter a lake name, a state or city and then simply click on a listing to compare all similar properties, best rates and availability for your dates.Search results: Sort lakes by water volume
Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Minnesota > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in Minnesota, only the 116 Minnesota lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name | Water vol. in ac-ft | Lake description |
---|---|---|
Wabana Lake (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
58,018 ac-ft | (Also known as Wabana Chain of Lakes) Trilling their distinctive call, loons glide across the surface of Wabana Lake, dodging in and out of the mist rising from the exceptionally clear wat … |
Big Birch Lake, MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
57,900 ac-ft | Big Birch Lake lies at the heart of Minnesota. With sparkling water spread across Todd and Stearns County lines, Big Birch Lake is at the geographic c … |
Siseebakwet Lake (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
52,648 ac-ft | (Also known as Sugar) Sitting atop a brightly-colored towel and looking across Siseebakwet Lake’s crystalline, vividly blue waters might bring up images of the Caribbean or … |
Cedar Lake MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
48,787 ac-ft | Visitors never tire of exploring Cedar Lake, Minnesota with its many twists, turns, bays, and coves. Cedar Lake is a spring- and small stream-fed lake … |
Gull Lake, MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
43,900 ac-ft | (Also known as Brainerd Lakes) Gull Lake, located in the Central Region of Minnesota’s “Land of 10,000 Lakes”, boasts 9,418 surface acres and 38 miles of pristine shoreline. The dee … |
South Long Lake (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
43,096 ac-ft | (Also known as Upper South Long Lake, Lower South Long Lake, Brainerd Lakes) South Long Lake near Brainerd, Minnesota in Crow Wing County offers 2,115 acres of scenic beauty with a shoreline surrounded by rolling hills covered … |
Moose Lake, MN (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
38,190 ac-ft | The passage of time often brings change and development to certain areas, but northern Minnesota’s Moose Lake rests quietly in its remote setting. Wit … |
Little Boy Lake (Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
32,928 ac-ft | Paradise comes at very little cost while guests look upon Little Boy Lake’s shimmering waters in northern Minnesota. This 1,372-acre lake is moments a … |
Lake Mary, MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
32,009 ac-ft | Covering 2,371 acres, Lake Mary is one of the larger lakes in the Alexandria Lakes Area in Douglas County, Minnesota. Although certain areas of the la … |
Rush Lake, MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
30,836 ac-ft | Rush Lake is a 5,338-acre natural lake located in central Otter Tail County in the Central Region of Minnesota. Rush Lake is part of the Otter Tail Ri … |
Horseshoe Chain of Lakes (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
30,735 ac-ft | (Also known as Horseshoe Chain, Sauk River Chain of Lakes) The Horseshoe Chain of Lakes in Central Minnesota has been a well-loved vacation destination for many years. The chain of over a dozen lakes along the … |
Lac qui Parle, MN (Minnesota, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
29,700 ac-ft | Thousands of feathered creatures gather here, nesting, breeding and chattering about things only birds would know about. For the myriad sounds the bir … |