Deepest lakes & reservoirs in South 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 11 articles we have published for South Dakota lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > South Dakota > Compared by maximum depth in feet. This list does not represent all lakes in South Dakota, only the 11 South 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 Sharpe, SD (Great Lakes Region, SD, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
95 ft | Lake Sharpe, located on South Dakota Highways 50 and 47 near Chamberlain, and Reliance, is one of the four reservoirs constructed along the Missouri R… |
| Angostura Reservoir, SD (Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Region, SD, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
75 ft | Also known as Angostura Recreation Area, Lake Angostura, Angostura Lake At the fringes of the unique Black Hills, or Paha Sapa in the Lakota language, is the Angostura Reservoir. Part of the Black Hills and Badlands wester… |
| Lewis and Clark Lake, NE/SD (Lewis and Clark Region, NE, Nebraska, South Dakota, Southeast Region, SD, US Midwest Region, USA) |
45 ft | Stretching 25 miles long and straddling the Nebraska and South Dakota border, 28,000-acre Lewis and Clark Lake is the smallest of the Missouri River r… |
| Waubay Chain of Lakes (Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region, SD, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
31 ft | Also known as North Waubay Lake, South Waubay Lake, Hillebrands Lake, Spring Lake, Rush Lake, Bluedog Lake, Little Rush Lake, Minnewasta Lake Waubay Chain of Lakes, in the Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region of northeast South Dakota, is a stunning example of nature’s triumph over human settleme… |
| Marindahl Lake, SD (South Dakota, Southeast Region, SD, US Midwest Region, USA) |
30 ft | Also known as Marindahl Reservoir Marindahl Lake, in South Dakotas’s Southeast Region, isn’t the kind of lake you’ll find on lists of the world’s greatest lakes. Indeed, you may not be… |
| Richmond Lake (Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region, SD, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
24 ft | Also known as Richmond Reservoir Richmond Lake turned 75 years old in 2012. Built near Aberdeen during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression of the 1930s, Richmond Lake was one of 657 la… |
| Big Stone Lake, MN/SD (Central Minnesota, Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region, SD, Minnesota, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
16 ft | Big Stone Lake’s sparkling blue water covers 12,360 acres and forms the border between western Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota. This picturesq… |
| Lakes of Custer State Park (Black Hills, Badlands & Lakes Region, SD, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
16 ft | Also known as Stockade Lake, Bismarck Lake, Legion Lake, Sylvan Lake, Center Lake Recreational travelers in South Dakota’s Black Hills, Badlands and Lakes Region will find the vacationland of their dreams among the five lakes dotted… |
| Lake Traverse, MN/SD (Central Minnesota, Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region, SD, Minnesota, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
15 ft | Lake Traverse straddles the border of Minnesota’s Central tourism region and South Dakota’s northeastern Great Lakes and Prairie region. Covering more… |