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 |
|---|---|---|
| Gillham Lake, AR (Arkansas, Ouachitas Region, AR, US South Region, USA) |
33,113 ac-ft | Gillham Lake is known as “The Bright Spot of the Cossatot” due to its location on the Cossatot River, a challenging white water stream in Arkansas. Th … |
| Cass Lake, MI (Michigan, Southeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
33,065 ac-ft | Michigan is fortunate to have many fishing and water sport destination options. Cass Lake, just a 30-mile ride from Detroit, is a popular freshwater l … |
| Clearwater Lake ME (Lakes & Mountains Region, ME, Maine, US New England Region, USA) |
32,996 ac-ft | (Also known as Clearwater Pond) Clearwater Lake, also known as Clearwater Pond, is a natural lake tucked away in the woods of Maine’s Lakes and Mountains Region. With almost 800 acre … |
| Neeskah Reservoir, CO (Colorado, Southeast Colorado, US West Region, USA) |
32,985 ac-ft | (Also known as Upper and Lower Queen Reservoir) Set in the golden short grass prairie of southeastern Colorado, Neeskah Reservoir is a small fertile gem of precious water. Along with its sister rese … |
| Little Boy Lake (Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
32,928 ac-ft | Paradise comes at very little cost while guests look upon Little Boy Lake’s shimmering waters in northern Minnesota. This 1,372-acre lake is moments a … |
| Cowanesque Lake, PA (Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Wilds Region, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
32,600 ac-ft | Peacefully nestled between forested ridges in north central Pennsylvania lies Cowanesque Lake. Located near the New York state line, the name Cowanesq … |
| Lake Lure, NC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
32,295 ac-ft | Snuggled into the emerald mountains of western North Carolina, Lake Lure’s 720 acres sparkle in the sunlight. Clean water, beautiful scenery, and rura … |
| Lake Mary, MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
32,009 ac-ft | Covering 2,371 acres, Lake Mary is one of the larger lakes in the Alexandria Lakes Area in Douglas County, Minnesota. Although certain areas of the la … |
| Deer Point Lake, FL (Florida, Panhandle West Region, FL, US South Region, USA) |
32,000 ac-ft | Deer Point Lake is located north of Panama City, off of US 331 and SR-77. Primarily used as a public water source, Deer Point Lake is also used for ir … |
| Pipestem Lake, ND (North Dakota, South Central Region, ND, US Midwest Region, USA) |
32,000 ac-ft | Pipestem Lake stretches five and a half miles long on Pipestem Creek in south-central North Dakota, just a few miles north of Jamestown. With 840 acre … |
| Maple Lake ON (Canada, Ontario, Canada) |
31,999 ac-ft | Maple Lake is a lovely natural freshwater lake tucked away in the Haliburton Highlands of Ontario. This lake has 829 acres of calming blue waters. The … |
| Spavinaw Lake, OK (Green Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
31,686 ac-ft | (Also known as Lower Spavinaw Reservoir, Spavinaw Reservoir) The tiny town of Spavinaw, in Oklahoma’s Green Country Region, guards Spavinaw Lake – the principal water supply for the City of Tulsa over fifty mile … |