Deepest lakes & reservoirs in North Carolina by maximum depth (ft)
The estimated greatest depth of the water in a lake can be measured at the lake’s normal elevation. If the water volume and surface area of a lake are known, an estimate of the lake’s average depth can be calculated:Water volume ÷ Surface Area = Average Depth
Example: 1,000,000 acre-feet ÷ 20,000 acres = 50 feet average depth.
You can find many of the the world’s deepest lakes on LakeLubbers. If you sort the list, you will find the (maximum depth of) the shallowest lakes in our database. Note: For some lakes, lake depth data is unknown, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 45 articles we have published for North Carolina lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US South Region > North Carolina > Compared by maximum depth in feet. This list does not represent all lakes in North Carolina, only the 45 North Carolina lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Max depth in feet |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Fontana Lake, NC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
440 ft | Also known as Fontana Reservoir Fontana Lake, nestled in western North Carolina’s Smoky Mountains, was built by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to provide hydroelectric power to… |
| Lake Jocassee, NC/SC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, South Carolina, The Upcountry, SC, US South Region, USA) |
326 ft | Nestled into the pristine Appalachian mountains of northwestern South Carolina and southwestern North Carolina, Lake Jocassee reaches its watery depth… |
| Lake Hiwassee, NC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
308 ft | Also known as Hiwassee Reservoir or Hiwassee Lake Lake Hiwassee is located in the mountainous region of North Carolina’s southwestern Cherokee County. Sitting in the Nantahala National Forest, it is a… |
| Nantahala Lake, NC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
249 ft | Also known as Lake Nantahala Nantahala Lake is one of the most pristine lakes in North Carolina. Located within the Nantahala National Forest at an elevation of 3,012 feet, the 1,… |
| Lake Wylie (North Carolina, Olde English District, SC, Piedmont Region, NC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
240 ft | Also known as Lake Wylie Reservoir Spanning the North Carolina-South Carolina border, Lake Wylie is the oldest reservoir on the Catawba River. First dammed in 1904, the dam was rebuilt… |
| Lake Santeetlah, NC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
213 ft | Also known as Santeetlah Reservoir or Santeetlah Lake High up in the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina’s largely wild, westerly Graham County is Lake Santeetlah. Owned by Brookfield Renewable Energy… |
| Badin Lake, NC (North Carolina, Piedmont Region, NC, US South Region, USA) |
190 ft | Badin Lake, a reservoir built in 1917 for hydroelectric power by the Aluminum Company of America, covers 5,350 North Carolina acres with its sparkling… |
| Cedar Cliff Lake (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
173 ft | Nestled within the dramatic Blue Ridge Mountains, Cedar Cliff Lake is one of North Carolina’s most picturesque bodies of water. It is thin and elongat… |
| Lake Chatuge, GA/NC (Georgia, Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, US South Region, USA) |
144 ft | Also known as Chatuge Lake, Chatuge Reservoir Beautiful Lake Chatuge (pronounced “sha-toog”) spans 7200 acres and two states, stretching 13 miles from Hayesville, North Carolina, to Hiawassee, Geo… |
| Belews Lake, NC (North Carolina, Piedmont Region, NC, US South Region, USA) |
130 ft | Belews Lake is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in beautiful north central North Carolina. The lake straddles Stokes, Forsyth and… |
| Lake Glenville, NC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
125 ft | Also known as Thorpe Reservoir, Glenville Lake Nestled among the forests and mountain peaks of southwestern North Carolina lies the highest lake east of the Mississippi, Lake Glenville (aka Thorpe… |
| Lake James, NC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
115 ft | Nestled into the Blue Ridge Mountains, Lake James is a 6,510 acre lake in western North Carolina with 150 shoreline miles. Duke Power constructed thre… |