Largest lakes & reservoirs in United Kingdom 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 43 articles we have published for United Kingdom lakes.
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Below are lakes within United Kingdom > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in United Kingdom, only the 43 United Kingdom lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name | Water vol. in ac-ft | Lake description |
---|---|---|
Llyn Brenig (North Wales Region, UK, United Kingdom, Wales, United Kingdom) |
486,428 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Brenig, Llyn Brenig Reservoir) Llyn (Lake) Brenig is a sparkling 920-acre (3.7 square kilometer) reservoir located in North Wales, in the heart of the Denbigh moors. Nestled between … |
Loch Shin (Highlands & Moray Region, Scotland, Scotland, United Kingdom, United Kingdom) |
284,206 ac-ft | Loch Shin is a long and narrow glacial lake located in County Sutherland, part of the Scottish Highlands. This freshwater loch measures about 17.5 mil … |
Lake Windermere (England, England's Northwest Region, United Kingdom) |
251,321 ac-ft | (Also known as Windermere, The Lake District) Lake Windermere is the largest natural lake in England, covering more than 3,600 acres (1,476 hectares) in northwest England’s famous Lake District. C … |
Loch Assynt (Highlands & Moray Region, Scotland, Scotland, United Kingdom, United Kingdom) |
200,434 ac-ft | Hidden away in a remote corner of Northwestern Scotland, Loch Assynt offers a scenic vista consisting of nearly 2,000 acres of sparkling cold waters, … |
Ullswater (England, England's Northwest Region, United Kingdom) |
180,789 ac-ft | (Also known as Ullswater Lake, The Lake District) Cumbria, in northwest England’s famous Lake District, is home to diverse natural features that attract visitors from near and far. Ullswater, a natura … |
Coniston Water (England, England's Northwest Region, United Kingdom) |
91,854 ac-ft | (Also known as Conison Lake, Coniston, Thurston Water, The Lake District) Coniston Water is in England’s Lake District, its spectacular landscapes making it an impressive tourist attraction in its own right. However, Conisto … |
Bala Lake (North Wales Region, UK, United Kingdom, Wales, United Kingdom) |
71,343 ac-ft | (Also known as Llyn Tegid) Bala Lake is nestled in the gentle rolling hills of North Wales and has stunning mountains resting in the background. The lake, called Llyn Tegid in W … |
Llyn Brianne Reservoir (Mid Wales Region, UK, United Kingdom, Wales, United Kingdom) |
48,643 ac-ft | (Also known as Llyn Brianne, Lake Brianne) The Llyn Brianne Reservoir is a beautiful 530-acre (2.1 square kilometer) body of water nestled in the Cambrian Mountains of Mid-Wales. Created in 197 … |
Lake Vyrnwy (Mid Wales Region, UK, United Kingdom, Wales, United Kingdom) |
48,372 ac-ft | (Also known as Llyn Efyrnwy, Vyrnwy Reservoir) Lake Vyrnwy (Llyn Efyrnwy in Welsh) is a beautiful man-made reservoir constructed in 1888 to provide the City of Liverpool with a reliable and plentif … |
Llyn Clywedog (Mid Wales Region, UK, United Kingdom, Wales, United Kingdom) |
40,536 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Clywedog, Clywedog Reservoir) The Clywedog Reservoir, or Llyn (Lake) Clywedog, was formed by damming the River Clywedog, a tributary of the River Severn, in 1967. The concrete butt … |
Derwentwater (England, England's Northwest Region, United Kingdom) |
23,511 ac-ft | (Also known as Derwent Water, Derwentwater Lake, The Lake District) Cumbria, in northwest England, is home to Lake District National Park, established in 1951. All of the land in England that exceeds an elevation of 3, … |
Bassenthwaite Lake (England, England's Northwest Region, United Kingdom) |
22,619 ac-ft | (Also known as Bass Lake, Bassenwater, Broadwater, The Lake District) Bassenthwaite Lake is a scenic peaceful lake located in England’s Lake District. In this land of many lakes, Bassenthwaite Lake is the only body of wa … |