Largest lakes & reservoirs in US Midwest Region by acres
There is no widely-accepted minimum surface area that defines a lake. What LakeLubbers describes as a lake, you might call a pond. Acreage of a lake (or sometimes square kilometers) is most often measured at the top surface area when the lake is at normal elevation. The surface area can be considerably smaller or larger when lake levels are lower or higher than normal. North America’s Lake Superior is the world’s largest freshwater lake by this measure.The other measure of a lake’s size is the lake’s water volume. By that measure, the world’s largest freshwater lake is Lake Baikal in Siberia.
You can find many of the world’s largest lakes (acres) on LakeLubbers in the comparison table below. Note: For some lakes, "Largest Lakes - Acres" data is unknown or does not apply, so you may see fewer lakes than the total 516 articles we have published for US Midwest Region lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Compared by surface area in acres. This list does not represent all lakes in US Midwest Region, only the 516 US Midwest Region lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Surface area in acres |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Michigan-Huron (Canada, Chicagoland Region, IL, Great Lakes of North America, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Michigan Region, WI, Michigan, North Indiana, Northeast Michigan, Northwest Michigan, Ontario, Canada, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, West Central Michigan, Wisconsin) |
29,062,400 ac | Lake Michigan and Lake Huron – two of North America’s Great Lakes – are contiguous and they share the same elevation of 577 feet above sea level. They… |
| Lake Superior (Canada, Great Lakes of North America, Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, Michigan, Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, Wisconsin) |
20,288,000 ac | Skipping over state and country borders, Lake Superior, the largest, deepest, coldest, cleanest, least developed, and most pristine of the Great Lakes… |
| Lake Huron (Canada, East Central Michigan, Great Lakes of North America, Michigan, Northeast Michigan, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI) |
14,726,400 ac | A glacial lake of epic proportions, Lake Huron is the second largest of the five Great Lakes by surface area, boasting 23,010 square miles and an incr… |
| Lake Michigan (Chicagoland Region, IL, Great Lakes of North America, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Michigan Region, WI, Michigan, North Indiana, Northwest Michigan, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, West Central Michigan, Wisconsin) |
14,336,000 ac | As the only Great Lake nestled completely within the boundaries of the United States, Lake Michigan is the pride and joy of Wisconsin, Illinois, India… |
| Lake Erie (Canada, Chautauqua-Allegheny Region, NY, Great Lakes Region, PA, Great Lakes of North America, Greater Niagara Region, NY, Michigan, New York, Northeast Ohio, Northwest Ohio, Ohio, Ontario, Canada, Pennsylvania, Southeast Michigan, US Mid-Atlantic Region, US Midwest Region, USA) |
6,261,500 ac | Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes of North America, straddles the borders of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, and the Canadian province of Onta… |
| Lake of the Woods, MN / Canada (Canada, Manitoba, Canada, Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA) |
950,400 ac | Spanning the border from Minnesota into the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, Lake of the Woods is an enormous body of water over 68 miles l… |
| Lake Sakakawea, ND (North Dakota, Northwest Region, ND, US Midwest Region, USA) |
382,000 ac | The second-largest reservoir by surface acreage in the United States (and third-largest in volume), Lake Sakakawea stretches 178 miles from Garrison D… |
| Lake Saint Clair, MI / Canada (Canada, Michigan, Ontario, Canada, Southeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
275,200 ac | Also known as Lake St. Clair Heart-shaped Lake Saint Clair is the smallest body of water in the Great Lakes system. Tucked between Lake Huron to the north and Lake Erie to the sou… |
| Rainy Lake, MN / Canada (Canada, Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA) |
221,000 ac | Rainy Lake’s sprawling 221,000 acres straddle the border of the United States and Canada. Known as a water sports lover’s paradise, Rainy Lake is loca… |
| Lake Oahe, ND/SD (Great Lakes Region, SD, North Dakota, South Central Region, ND, South Dakota, Southwest Region, ND, US Midwest Region, USA) |
206,100 ac | 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… |
| Devil’s Lake, ND (North Central Region, ND, North Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
161,280 ac | 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… |
| Mille Lacs Lake, MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
132,516 ac | Also known as Lake Mille Lacs August 2015 Update: The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources issued an order August 2, 2015 banning walleye fishing for the rest of the season. T… |