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 |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Pool Lake (Prairies and Lakes Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
176,900 ac-ft | (Also known as Joe Pool Reservoir) When summer heat leaves residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth area longing for cool breezes, many of them head for Joe Pool Lake. This reservoir was crea … |
| Sutherland Reservoir, NE (Nebraska, Prairie Lakes Region, NE, US Midwest Region, USA) |
175,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Sutherland Lake) Sutherland Reservoir is 3,017-acre lake located just south of the town of Sutherland, Nebraska. Located in the Prairie Lakes tourism region, the lake … |
| Bowman Lake, MT (Glacier Country, MT, Montana, US West Region, USA) |
174,469 ac-ft | Bowman Lake is located in the northwest corner of scenic Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park. The crystal clear waters of Bowman Lake reflect th … |
| Thompson Lake, ME (Lakes & Mountains Region, ME, Maine, US New England Region, USA) |
173,712 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Thompson, The Heath) Just a one-hour drive northwest of Portland’s coastline, Thompson Lake lies in the Lakes & Mountains tourism region of southern Maine. Located at … |
| Castle Rock Lake, WI (Central Sands Prairie Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
172,050 ac-ft | (Also known as Castle Rock Flowage) Castle Rock Lake offers what lake lovers want: a lot of water, an abundance of fish, and countless beautiful views. Castle Rock one of Wisconsin’s lar … |
| Mitchell Lake, AL (Alabama, Metropolitan Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
172,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Mitchell) Centrally-located Mitchell Lake (also known as Lake Mitchell) is 45 miles from Montgomery and 55 miles from Birmingham in the Metropolitan region of A … |
| Swan Lake MT (Glacier Country, MT, Montana, US West Region, USA) |
171,654 ac-ft | Montana conjures images of snow-capped mountains and clean waters full of fish, and Swan Lake more than lives up to that reputation. Surrounded by the … |
| Lake Thunderbird, OK (Frontier Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
171,300 ac-ft | (Also known as Thunderbird Reservoir, Thunderbird Lake) No place could be better suited to recreation than Oklahoma’s Lake Thunderbird. Located in the Frontier Country Region, Lake Thunderbird provides recr … |
| Indian Lake, NY (Adirondacks Region, NY, New York, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
170,235 ac-ft | Surrounded by the grandeur of the Adirondack Mountains, Indian Lake, in northern New York’s Adirondack Vacation region, is a 4,365-acre lake well know … |
| Nolin River Lake, KY (Caves, Lakes & Corvettes Region, KY, Kentucky, US South Region, USA) |
170,140 ac-ft | Tucked into the hills of south central Kentucky, 5,795 acre Nolin River Lake shares residence among Edmonson, Grayson, and Hart counties. Created by t … |
| Webbers Falls Reservoir, OK (Green Country, OK, Kiamichi Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
170,106 ac-ft | (Also known as Webbers Falls Lake) Webbers Falls Reservoir is located in east-central Oklahoma north of Webbers Falls, a town named for seven foot-high falls on the Arkansas River. Mana … |
| Lac Courte Oreilles, WI (Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
169,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Hayward Lakes) Known for its “really big muskie,” Lac Courte Oreilles near Hayward in Sawyer County has been a popular recreation spot with anglers for well over a h … |