Deepest lakes & reservoirs in North Dakota 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 8 articles we have published for North Dakota lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > North Dakota > Compared by maximum depth in feet. This list does not represent all lakes in North Dakota, only the 8 North Dakota lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Max depth in feet |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Oahe, ND/SD (Great Lakes Region, SD, North Dakota, South Central Region, ND, South Dakota, Southwest Region, ND, US Midwest Region, USA) |
205 ft | Lake Oahe, named after an Oahe Indian Mission, roughly translates “a foundation” or “a place to stand on.” Spanning 231 miles from Pierre, South Dakot… |
| Lake Sakakawea, ND (North Dakota, Northwest Region, ND, US Midwest Region, USA) |
180 ft | The second-largest reservoir by surface acreage in the United States (and third-largest in volume), Lake Sakakawea stretches 178 miles from Garrison D… |
| Devil’s Lake, ND (North Central Region, ND, North Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
75 ft | Also known as Devils Lake Spring 2011: Water levels continue to rise with melting snow and spring rains, reaching 1,453 feet above sea level and about 177,000 acres in April. A… |
| Lake Ashtabula, ND (North Dakota, Southeast Region, ND, US Midwest Region, USA) |
42 ft | Lake Ashtabula is located among the gentle rolling prairies of southeastern North Dakota. Stretching 27 miles along the Sheyenne River, Lake Ashtabula… |
| Pipestem Lake, ND (North Dakota, South Central Region, ND, US Midwest Region, USA) |
30 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… |
| Lake Darling, ND (North Dakota, Northwest Region, ND, US Midwest Region, USA) |
26 ft | Lake Darling is the focal point of the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge located in northwest North Dakota. The Refuge is beautifully situated alo… |
| Lake Metigoshe (Canada, Manitoba, Canada, North Central Region, ND, North Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
24 ft | One of the best spots for water recreation in North Dakota’s North Central region is Lake Metigoshe. Often called the ‘Jewel of the Turtle Mountains’,… |