Largest lakes & reservoirs in 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 2151 articles we have published for lakes.
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Below are lakes within Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in , only the 2151 lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Water vol. in ac-ft |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| 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 … |
| Gutierrez Lake, Argentina (Argentina, Patagonia, Argentina, Rio Negro, Patagonia) |
1,059,600 ac-ft | (Also known as Lago Gutierrez) Surrounded by stunning Patagonian mountainsides and forested landscapes, Lake Gutierrez, or Lago Gutierrez in Spanish, is a sliver-shaped glacial lake … |
| Lake Orta (Italy, Piedmont Region, Italy) |
1,053,927 ac-ft | (Also known as Lago d'Orta) Described by 19th century French novelist Honere Balzac as a “grey pearl in a green jewel box,” Lake Orta in the Piedmont region of Italy has been the … |
| Lac de Serre-Poncon (France, Provence-Alps-Cote d'Azur Region, Southern France, Southern France Region) |
1,053,927 ac-ft | Lac de Serre-Poncon in the Provence Region of France proves that mankind can create a treasure of nature while solving a problem. Building a dam acros … |
| 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 … |
| Lake Chelan, WA (North Central Washington, US West Region, USA, Washington) |
1,040,000 ac-ft | From the Salish Indian word for “deep notch”, Lake Chelan is the third deepest lake in the United States with a maximum depth of almost 1500 feet. Lak … |
| Navajo Lake NM (Colorado, New Mexico, Northwest New Mexico, NM, Southeast Colorado, US Southwest Region, US West Region, USA) |
1,036,100 ac-ft | (Also known as Navajo Reservoir) Navajo Lake offers a surprising and welcome expanse of water in northwestern New Mexico. The 15,600-acre reservoir stretches north into southwest Colo … |
| Seminoe Reservoir, WY (Central Wyoming, US West Region, USA, Wyoming) |
1,017,279 ac-ft | Seminoe Reservoir is an outdoor person’s wonderland with great fishing and an over 20,000 acre surface for boating and water sports. Near the north en … |
| Pathfinder Reservoir, WY (Central Wyoming, US West Region, USA, Wyoming) |
1,016,000 ac-ft | Pathfinder Reservoir is the oldest reservoir along the North Platte River. With over 21,000 acres of water it is a welcome destination for more than 1 … |
| Lake Ozette, WA (Olympic Peninsula & Pacific Coast Region, WA, US West Region, USA, Washington) |
1,012,310 ac-ft | (Also known as Ozette Lake) Nestled in dense forest just a few miles from the Pacific Coast, Lake Ozette sits snuggled into Washington’s Olympic Peninsula tourism region, on the … |