Largest lakes & reservoirs in Pennsylvania 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 40 articles we have published for Pennsylvania lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Mid-Atlantic Region > Pennsylvania > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in Pennsylvania, only the 40 Pennsylvania lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Water vol. in ac-ft |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Erie (Canada, Chautauqua-Allegheny Region, NY, Great Lakes Region, PA, Great Lakes of North America, Greater Niagara Region, NY, Michigan, New York, Northeast Ohio, Northwest Ohio, Ohio, Ontario, Canada, Pennsylvania, Southeast Michigan, US Mid-Atlantic Region, US Midwest Region, USA) |
391,987,200 ac-ft | Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes of North America, straddles the borders of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, and the Canadian province of Onta… |
| Allegheny Reservoir, NY/PA (Chautauqua-Allegheny Region, NY, New York, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Wilds Region, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
579,840 ac-ft | (Also known as Kinzua Dam Lake, Kinzua Lake, Lake Kinzua) Flowing across tree-covered hills in northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York, the Allegheny Reservoir’s 12,080 acres provide an open invit… |
| Pymatuning Lake, PA/OH (Great Lakes Region, PA, Northeast Ohio, Ohio, Pennsylvania, US Mid-Atlantic Region, US Midwest Region, USA) |
188,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Pymatuning Reservoir) Pymatuning Lake, located in northwestern Pennsylvania and spilling over into northeastern Ohio, is a lake of superlatives: Clocking in at 17,088 acres… |
| Beltzville Lake, PA (Northeastern Mountains Region, PA, Pennsylvania, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
41,250 ac-ft | (Also known as Beltzville Reservoir) The Pennsylvania Pocono Mountains are spectacular for many reasons, and Beltzville Lake is one of them. Located in the southern foothills of these fam… |
| Lake Nockamixon, PA (Pennsylvania, Philadelphia & Countryside Region, PA, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
39,900 ac-ft | Lake Nockamixon, located in the 5,283 acre Nockamixon State Park, is located in southeastern Pennsylvania’s Bucks County. The 1,450 acre reservoir is… |
| Lake Arthur, PA (Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh & Countryside Region, PA, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
37,000 ac-ft | In the warm summer breeze, sailboats dart like flocks of colorful birds across Lake Arthur’s clear Pennsylvania waters. Located in Butler County, this… |
| Cowanesque Lake, PA (Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Wilds Region, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
32,600 ac-ft | Peacefully nestled between forested ridges in north central Pennsylvania lies Cowanesque Lake. Located near the New York state line, the name Cowanesq… |
| Shenango River Lake, PA/OH (Great Lakes Region, PA, Northeast Ohio, Ohio, Pennsylvania, US Mid-Atlantic Region, US Midwest Region, USA) |
29,920 ac-ft | (Also known as Shenango Reservoir) Located mostly in northwestern Pennsylvania between Greenville PA and Sharon PA – and spilling into northeastern Ohio – Shenango River Lake provides f… |
| Harveys Lake, PA (Northeastern Mountains Region, PA, Pennsylvania, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
23,835 ac-ft | (Also known as Harvey's Lake) With a surface area of 658 acres, Harveys Lake is Pennsylvania’s largest natural lake by total volume of water. Located in the Northeastern Mountain R… |
| Lake Wilhelm, PA (Great Lakes Region, PA, Pennsylvania, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
17,825 ac-ft | Lake Wilhelm was created in 1971 with the damming of Sandy Creek for flood control purposes. Lake Wilhelm is a shallow lake with a maximum depth of ab… |
| Indian Lake, PA (Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh & Countryside Region, PA, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
10,495 ac-ft | Indian Lake is a freshwater man-made lake shaped like a horseshoe, located in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the state’s Laurel Highland… |
| Beaverdam Reservoir (Allegheny Mountains & Valleys Region, PA, Pennsylvania, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
7,672 ac-ft | (Also known as Beaverdam Run Reservoir) Tucked away in rural Cambria County, in Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountains and Valleys region, Beaverdam Reservoir provides a welcome natural respite… |
