Highest elevation lakes & reservoirs in New Jersey by altitude
While lake levels can flucuate frequently based on several circumstances, the altitude/elevation of a lake is based on its normal water level, measured by the lake’s surface distance above sea level. For a reservoir, this water level is also known as “full pond” or “full pool”.Low lake levels can occur due to deliberate seasonal draw downs for irrigation or impending snow melt, reduced water inflows, drought and evaporation, residential or commercial water demands, and hydropower generation. Some lakes’ minimum and maximum elevations are virtually the same. Lakes that generate hydropower may vary by several feet – according to power demand. Lakes whose primary purpose is to prevent flooding can seasonally vary by 100 feet or more. When some lakes reach their minimum elevation, their boat ramps may not be long enough to permit boat access – and boats docked on shallow parts of the lake may end up on dry ground. In those cases, kayakers and shore-based anglers may be among the few happy recreational users of the lake.
A lake’s highest water level, measured by the lake’s surface distance above sea level, that can occur during flooding. A lake’s highest possible maximum elevation is usually the top of the lake’s dam or spillway. At lakes that include residential development, government regulations usually forbid the construction of homes below a lake’s maximum elevation.
You can find many of the world’s highest-elevated lakes on LakeLubbers. Lakes with the lowest elevations (known by LakeLubbers) are shown on the final page of that list. Note: For some lakes, "Altitude/Elevation" data is unknown, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 21 articles we have published for New Jersey lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Mid-Atlantic Region > New Jersey > Compared by highest altitude/elevation in feet. This list does not represent all lakes in New Jersey, only the 21 New Jersey lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Elevation in feet |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Merrill Creek Reservoir, NJ (New Jersey, Skylands Region, NJ, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
929 ft | Merrill Creek Reservoir, located in Warren County, New Jersey, is a 650-acre man-made lake completed in 1988. The reservoir project took 13 years of p… |
| Lake Hopatcong, NJ (New Jersey, Skylands Region, NJ, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
926 ft | Lake Hopatcong is the largest lake in New Jersey, at about nine miles long with 45 miles of shoreline and covering 2,560 acres. Only 45 miles from New… |
| Lake Owassa, NJ (New Jersey, Skylands Region, NJ, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
868 ft | A privately-owned association lake, Lake Owassa is located in Sussex County in the Culvers Gap Area of the Skyland Region. The lake is only 275-acres… |
| Round Valley Reservoir, NJ (New Jersey, Skylands Region, NJ, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
361 ft | Round Valley Reservoir spans 2,350 acres in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The reservoir fills the valley formed by the ring-shaped Cushetunk Mountain,… |
| Spruce Run Reservoir, NJ (New Jersey, Skylands Region, NJ, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
274 ft | Spruce Run Reservoir is one of the oldest reservoirs in the state of New Jersey. Constructed in the 1960s to meet an increasing need for water supplie… |
| Manasquan Reservoir, NJ (New Jersey, Shore Region, NJ, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
112 ft | Also known as Manasquan County Reservoir Manasquan Reservoir is located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. Artifacts found near the reservoir indicate that its land was once occupied by the Lena… |
| Lake Tappan, NJ/NY (Gateway Region, NJ, Hudson Valley Region, NY, New Jersey, New York, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
55 ft | Also known as Tappan Lake, Lake Tappan Reservoir, Tappan Reservoir Lake Tappan is one of a series of reservoirs that was created to deliver drinking water to the huge population of the New York City metro area. The la… |
| Deal Lake, NJ (New Jersey, Shore Region, NJ, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
9 ft | The largest freshwater coastal lake in New Jersey, Deal Lake is composed of a unique series of shallow ponds and channels clustered together — as opp… |