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.
Thinking about booking a lake vacation home rental, cabin or hotel?
Use our free interactive vacation rental map to search and compare multiple vacation properties at a glance. Enter a lake name, a state or city and then simply click on a listing to compare all similar properties, best rates and availability for your dates.Search results: Sort lakes by water volume
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Langford Lake, BC (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
3,081 ac-ft | Located at the southern tip of one of North America’s most scenic islands, Langford Lake is a mere 13 miles west of Victoria on Canada’s Vancouver Isl … |
| Third Lake and Druce Lake, IL (Chicagoland Region, IL, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
3,079 ac-ft | (Also known as Chittenden Lake and Second Lake) The Village of Third Lake, located north of Chicago, is one of those secret locations that blends life in the big city with outdoor amenities. Small D … |
| Lake Nokomis MN (Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Region, MN, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
3,060 ac-ft | Tucked away in the heart of Minneapolis, 204-acre Lake Nokomis is settled snugly between two conjoining rivers and a number of quiet neighborhoods. Lo … |
| Little Spider Lake (Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
3,025 ac-ft | Little Spider Lake covers 223 acres in Wisconsin’s Lake Superior Northwoods Region. Located in Vilas County, Little Spider shares a landscape dotted w … |
| Big Bass Lake, WI (Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
3,015 ac-ft | (Also known as Bass Lake) Big Bass Lake is a shimmering 203-acre lake in Washburn County, Wisconsin. Surrounded by the dense hardwood and pine forests of Wisconsin’s Northwoods … |
| Quaddick Lake (Connecticut, Mystic Country Region, CT, US New England Region, USA) |
2,988 ac-ft | (Also known as Quaddick Reservoir) Northeast Connecticut is home to Quaddick Lake. This reservoir in Connecticut’s Mystic Country was created by damming the flow of Five Mile River to d … |
| Crystal Lake, WI (Lake Michigan Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
2,966 ac-ft | Crystal Lake is a very popular fishing lake in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin. With 152 acres of deep, blue water and nearly three miles of shoreline, th … |
| Neal’s Pond (Northeast Kingdom Region, VT, US New England Region, USA, Vermont) |
2,960 ac-ft | Along the miles of rolling hills and pastures in Essex County, Vermont, there is quaint body of water known as Neal’s Pond Here you can lose track of … |
| Lewis Lake, MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,899 ac-ft | Deep within eastern Minnesota’s wilderness sits an enticing body of water known as Lewis Lake. This body of water was naturally formed from the most r … |
| Beebe Pond (Crossroads of Vermont, US New England Region, USA, Vermont) |
2,886 ac-ft | (Also known as Beebe Lake) For a tranquil setting located in the center of abundant outdoor activity, historic locations, and stunning scenery, Beebe Pond in Vermont’s Rutland C … |
| Brombachsee (Bavaria Region, Germany, Germany) |
2,838 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Brombach, Brombach Lake, Brombachsee Lake, Brombachvorsperre) As the largest lake in the man-made Franconian Lake District, Brombachsee–also known as Lake Brombach or Brombachvorsperre–is an impressive and popu … |
| Cottonwood Lake, AK (Alaska, Southcentral Region, AK, US West Region, USA) |
2,835 ac-ft | Cottonwood Lake, located near the town of Wasilla in the Mat-Su Valley of Alaska, is a year-round destination. The Mat-Su Valley region, short for Mat … |