Largest lakes & reservoirs in US South Region 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 343 articles we have published for US South Region lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US South Region > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in US South Region, only the 343 US South Region lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Water vol. in ac-ft |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| J. Strom Thurmond Lake, GA/SC (Classic South Region, GA, Georgia, Old 96 District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
1,730,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Strom Thurmond, J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir, Clarks Hill Lake, Thurmond Lake) J. Strom Thurmond Lake, aka Clarks Hill Lake, holds the title of second largest artificial lake east of the Mississippi River. Straddling the Georgia- … |
| Lake Martin, AL (Alabama, Metropolitan Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
1,626,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Martin Lake) Lake Martin, located in Central Alabama near Alexander City, stretches out over 44,000 acres with an incredible 750 miles of shoreline. Nestled within … |
| Sardis Lake, MS (Hills Region, MS, Mississippi, US South Region, USA) |
1,512,000 ac-ft | Sardis Lake is a popular visitor destination with over 5 million people flocking to the water each year. Located in the counties of Panola, Lafayette … |
| Cherokee Lake, TN (East Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
1,460,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Cherokee Reservoir) Cherokee Lake: Artists stop at Clinch Mountain Overlook to paint it, and photographers to photograph it, and every year millions of people come from a … |
| Lake Marion, SC (Santee Cooper Country, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
1,437,800 ac-ft | The largest lake in South Carolina at 172 square miles, Lake Marion straddles five counties: Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg, and Sumter. It … |
| Douglas Lake, TN (East Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
1,419,700 ac-ft | (Also known as Douglas Reservoir) Douglas Lake, also known as Douglas Reservoir, stretches out over more than 28,000 acres and 500 shoreline miles in eastern Tennessee. Douglas Lake is … |
| Lewis Smith Lake, AL (Alabama, Mountains Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
1,390,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Smith Lake) Lewis Smith Lake is a perfect place for an outdoor adventure. Tucked into a corner of the Bankhead National Forest in northern Alabama’s Mountain Regi … |
| DeGray Lake, AR (Arkansas, Ouachitas Region, AR, US South Region, USA) |
1,377,000 ac-ft | DeGray Lake is nestled in the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains, in an area logically known as the Ouachita Mountain Region of Arkansas. This sectio … |
| Grenada Lake, MS (Hills Region, MS, Mississippi, US South Region, USA) |
1,251,710 ac-ft | Grenada Lake, located northeast of Grenada in Mississippi’s Hill Region, is the largest body of water lying completely within the state. With 35,820 a … |
| Lake Moultrie, SC (Santee Cooper Country, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
1,211,000 ac-ft | Lake Moultrie is located 31 miles north of Charleston in the low country of South Carolina. The lake is renowned for both its fishing and its natural … |
| Beaver Lake, AR (Arkansas, Ozarks Region, AR, US South Region, USA) |
1,200,000 ac-ft | Majestic limestone bluffs, hidden natural caves, and beautiful crystal clear water combine to make Beaver Lake an outdoor enthusiast’s playground. Add … |
| Lake Jocassee, NC/SC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, South Carolina, The Upcountry, SC, US South Region, USA) |
1,185,000 ac-ft | Nestled into the pristine Appalachian mountains of northwestern South Carolina and southwestern North Carolina, Lake Jocassee reaches its watery depth … |