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 Lawtonka, OK (Great Plains Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
55,574 ac-ft | Lake Lawtonka is a 2,400-acre reservoir with just under 20 miles of shoreline located in Comanche County, part of Great Plains Country in southwestern … |
| Cascade Lakes (Central Oregon, Oregon, US West Region, USA) |
55,300 ac-ft | (Also known as Todd Lake, Sparks Lake, Davis Lake, Elk Lake, Devils Lake, JHosmer Lake, Lava Lake, Little Lava Lake, Custus Lake, Little Custus Lake, Crane Prairie Reservoir, North Twin Lake, South Twin Lake, Wickiup Reservoir, Crescent Lake) Whether it be a scenic day trip along the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway, a leisurely day hike, or a rugged back country camping trek, the Cascade Lakes o … |
| Merrymeeting Lake (Lakes Region, NH, New Hampshire, US New England Region, USA) |
55,208 ac-ft | Beautiful Merrymeeting Lake in the town of New Durham, New Hampshire was formed by an impoundment on the Merrymeeting River in 1923. At normal water l … |
| Lake Lochloosa, FL (Florida, North Florida, US South Region, USA) |
55,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lochloosa Lake) A single kayaker paddles out of Cross Creek into the mouth of Little Lochloosa Lake. Beautiful 5,700-acre Lochlossa Lake stretches in front of him wit … |
| Aquilla Lake, TX (Prairies and Lakes Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
54,400 ac-ft | (Also known as Aquilla Dam, Aquilla Creek Reservoir) Located in the Prairies and Lakes region of Texas, lake enthusiasts will find a 3,280 acre, V-shaped reservoir called Aquilla Lake. The lake was forme … |
| Pine Creek Lake, OK (Kiamichi Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
53,750 ac-ft | (Also known as Pine Creek Reservoir) Pine Creek Lake, flowing north to south in the Kaimichi Region of Oklahoma, covers 3,750 acres of recreation and wildlife paradise. Authorized by the … |
| Long Lake NY (Adirondacks Region, NY, New York, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
53,001 ac-ft | Located in the heart of New York State’s majestic Adirondack Mountains, 4,077-acre Long Lake is indeed the longest lake in the area stretching for 14 … |
| West Branch Lake, OH (Northeast Ohio, Ohio, US Midwest Region, USA) |
52,900 ac-ft | (Also known as Michael J. Kirwan Reservoir) West Branch Lake is set in Northeast Ohio’s glaciated land, where large boulders of ice left marshy wetlands in their recession thousands of years ago … |
| Siseebakwet Lake (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
52,648 ac-ft | (Also known as Sugar) Sitting atop a brightly-colored towel and looking across Siseebakwet Lake’s crystalline, vividly blue waters might bring up images of the Caribbean or … |
| Lake Quinsigamond, MA (Central Massachusetts, Massachusetts, US New England Region, USA) |
52,327 ac-ft | Worcester, Massachusetts is well known for many things: John Adams taught school here before becoming the second President of the United States. Songw … |
| Parksville Lake, TN (East Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
52,270 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Ocoee, Ocoee Lake) Parksville Lake, also known as Ocoee Reservoir, is one of three reservoirs in Polk County near Cleveland,TN. Together the reservoirs run through some … |
| Cross Lake ME (Aroostook County, ME, Maine, US New England Region, USA) |
52,267 ac-ft | She rented her kayak from one of the outfitters near Cross Lake, the same one that handles some of the lake’s vacation rentals. As the mist rises off … |