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 |
|---|---|---|
| Deer Lake, MN (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
168,811 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake of Changing Colors) Often called the “Lake of Changing Colors,” Deer Lake is a jewel in Minnesota’s northwoods country. Located northwest of Grand Rapids in south-central … |
| Round Valley Reservoir, NJ (New Jersey, Skylands Region, NJ, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
168,788 ac-ft | Round Valley Reservoir spans 2,350 acres in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The reservoir fills the valley formed by the ring-shaped Cushetunk Mountain, … |
| Cheney Reservoir, KS (Kansas, South Central Kansas, US Midwest Region, USA) |
168,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Cheney Lake) Cheney Reservoir is the premier recreation spot for outdoor activity in south central Kansas. Constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation, it was complet … |
| Horsetooth Reservoir, CO (Colorado, Front Range Region, CO, US West Region, USA) |
168,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Horsetooth Lake) On the high, arid ridges and plains of Colorado’s Front Range, Horsetooth Reservoir delights the visitor and refreshes the senses. Developed as a stor … |
| Patoka Lake, IN (Indiana, South Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
167,290 ac-ft | Patoka Lake lies nestled within the Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana. Authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1965, the U.S. Army Corps of E … |
| Candlewood Lake, CT (Connecticut, Litchfield Hills Region, CT, US New England Region, USA) |
167,112 ac-ft | Candlewood Lake is Connecticut’s largest man-made reservoir. The City of Danbury and four other towns (Brookfield, New Milford, Sherman and New Fairfi … |
| Houghton Lake, MI (Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
165,072 ac-ft | Houghton Lake is a shallow, marshy lake with a sandy, gravely bottom. Warm in the summer, freezing over during the winter months, and staying cool dur … |
| Lake Traverse, MN/SD (Central Minnesota, Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region, SD, Minnesota, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
164,500 ac-ft | Lake Traverse straddles the border of Minnesota’s Central tourism region and South Dakota’s northeastern Great Lakes and Prairie region. Covering more … |
| Wood Lake, BC (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
161,737 ac-ft | Surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery in the interior of British Columbia, Canada, Wood Lake is a 2,224-acre lake in a chain of five major rec … |
| Lake Murray, OK (Arbuckle Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
161,642 ac-ft | Lake Murray, in southcentral Oklahoma’s Arbuckle Country, is a 5,728-acre reservoir completely surrounded by the pristine beauty of Lake Murray State … |
| Edersee (Germany, Hesse Region, Germany) |
161,600 ac-ft | (Also known as Ederstausee, Lake Edersee, Eder Reservoir) The jewel of the Hesse Region of Germany, the Edersee (see=lake) draws holiday visitors like a magnet. The large reservoir, created by damming the Ede … |
| Lake Apopka, FL (East Central Florida, Florida, US South Region, USA) |
161,176 ac-ft | Sixty years ago Lake Apopka was a world class bass fishery. Fishing camps dotted the shore of the spring-fed central Florida lake in Orange and Lake C … |