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 |
---|---|---|
Smith Mountain Lake, VA (Blue Ridge Highlands, VA, Central Virginia, Southern Virginia Region, US South Region, USA, Virginia) |
1,140,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Jewel of the Blue Ridge) With emerald green shores, sapphire blue skies, topaz blue waters, and soaring surrounding mountains, it’s clear why Smith Mountain Lake is nicknamed … |
Lake Okeechobee, FL (Florida, South Florida, US South Region, USA) |
1,100,000 ac-ft | With over 451,000 blue, watery acres, Lake Okeechobee is a lake with many titles. It is, by surface acreage, the largest lake in Florida. It also hold … |
Lake Norman, NC (North Carolina, Piedmont Region, NC, US South Region, USA) |
1,093,600 ac-ft | Lake Norman’s 32,510 acres garner it the superlative of being North Carolina’s largest manmade lake. An impressive 34 miles in length with 520 miles o … |
Richard B. Russell Lake, GA/SC (Georgia, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, Old 96 District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
1,066,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Russell) Richard B. Russell Lake, sometimes nicknamed Lake Russell, claims 26,650 sparkling acres and 540 miles of shoreline on the Georgia-South Carolina stat … |
Wheeler Lake, AL (Alabama, Mountains Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
1,050,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Wheeler Reservoir) Wheeler Lake in northern Alabama’s Mountain Region is the state’s second-largest lake at 67,100 acres. The Tennessee Valley Authority created Wheeler … |
Lake Guntersville, AL (Alabama, East Tennessee, Mountains Region, AL, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
1,049,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Guntersville Lake, Guntersville Reservoir) Alabama’s Mountain Region contains the state’s largest lake: Lake Guntersville. Cradled in the Appalachian foothills of northern Alabama, it’s located … |
Walter F. George Lake, AL/GA (Alabama, Georgia, Plantation Trace Region, GA, Presidential Pathways Region, GA, River Heritage Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
934,400 ac-ft | (Also known as Eufaula Lake, Walter F. George Reservoir, Lake Chattahoochee) Walter F. George Lake straddles 85 miles of the Georgia/Alabama border along the Chattahoochee River. Visitors will see varying names for the lake dep … |
Lake Keowee, SC (South Carolina, The Upcountry, SC, US South Region, USA) |
910,468 ac-ft | Lake Keowee is a freshwater lake located in northwestern South Carolina at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The lake supplies water to the n … |
West Point Lake, AL/GA (Alabama, Georgia, Metropolitan Region, AL, Presidential Pathways Region, GA, US South Region, USA) |
604,527 ac-ft | West Point Lake, located on the Alabama-Georgia border just north of I-85, stretches 35 miles along the Chattahoochee River. The 25,900-acre reservoir … |
Enid Lake, MS (Hills Region, MS, Mississippi, US South Region, USA) |
602,400 ac-ft | Enid Lake, located in northern Mississippi’s Hill Region, is about an hour’s drive south of Memphis, Tennessee. Originally designed for flood control, … |
Wilson Lake, AL (Alabama, Mountains Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
586,600 ac-ft | (Also known as Wilson Reservoir) Once known as the “Smallmouth Capital of the World,” outdoor enthusiasts enjoy Wilson Lake for its fishing, boating, hiking, and exploring the natural … |
Herrington Lake, KY (Bluegrass Region, KY, Kentucky, US South Region, USA) |
537,000 ac-ft | Meandering 32 miles across the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky is Herrington Lake. The first large impoundment in Kentucky, Herrington Lake was created i … |