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 |
|---|---|---|
| Hebgen Lake (Gold West Country, MT, Montana, US West Region, USA, Yellowstone Country, MT) |
386,000 ac-ft | Anglers will find some of Montana’s best stillwater trout fishing at Hebgen Lake. The 12,500-acre reservoir lies conveniently just outside the western … |
| Carters Lake, GA (Georgia, Historic High Country Region, GA, US South Region, USA) |
383,600 ac-ft | Positioned at the south end of the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains in North Georgia, Carters Lake is a small, deep lake with a little over 60 miles of s … |
| Canyon Lake, TX (Hill Country Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
382,000 ac-ft | Canyon Lake, with a maximum depth of 125 feet, is one of the deepest and most scenic lakes in Texas. Canyon Lake, formerly known as Canyon Reservoir, … |
| Lake Entiat, WA (North Central Washington, US West Region, USA, Washington) |
382,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Rocky Reach Reservoir) No trip to the north central part of Washington would be complete without a visit to Lake Entiat and the Rocky Reach Dam. Lake Entiat is a 9,100 acre … |
| Lavon Lake (Prairies and Lakes Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
380,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Lavon, Lavon Reservoir) Lavon Lake holds a special spot in the affections of residents northeast of Dallas. The reservoir, located on the East Fork of the Trinity River in th … |
| Lake Whitney (Prairies and Lakes Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
379,100 ac-ft | (Also known as Whitney Lake, Whitney Reservoir) A welcoming oasis of water in the often dry Texas Prairies and Lakes Region, Lake Whitney draws visitors from some of the largest cities in Texas. Abo … |
| Belton Lake, TX (Prairies and Lakes Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
372,700 ac-ft | Imposing bluffs stand tall in the Texas wind, as if serenely surveying Belton Lake’s calm, clear waters. An osprey spreads its wings from atop the blu … |
| Lake Allatoona, GA (Georgia, Historic High Country Region, GA, US South Region, USA) |
367,500 ac-ft | (Also known as Allatoona Lake) Lake Allatoona, located northwest of Atlanta, is one of the most visited Army Corps of Engineers lakes in the United States. With a shoreline of 270 m … |
| Lake Fort Gibson, OK (Green Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
365,200 ac-ft | (Also known as Fort Gibson Reservoir or Fort Gibson Lake) Fort Gibson is a historic place in United States military history. It was significant to many military expeditions; it was a site of negotiations, int … |
| Lake Wenatchee, WA (North Central Washington, US West Region, USA, Washington) |
364,560 ac-ft | Lake Wenatchee is a high mountain lake located in the Wenatchee National Forest in the Cascade Mountains of Washington state. Fed by the Little Wenatc … |
| Jordanelle Reservoir, UT (Mountainland Region, UT, US West Region, USA, Utah) |
360,500 ac-ft | Jordanelle Reservoir is one of the newest reservoirs in Utah. The Jordanelle Dam was constructed on the Provo River by the Bureau of Reclamation in 19 … |
| Periyar Lake (India, Kerala Region, South India, South India) |
359,332 ac-ft | (Also known as Periyar Reservoir, Thekkady Lake) Periyar Lake in India’s State of Kerala is one of the few places you can view Asian elephants and tigers in their natural habitat from the water. The … |