Largest lakes & reservoirs in Northwest Iowa 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 7 articles we have published for Northwest Iowa lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Iowa > Northwest Iowa > Compared by surface area in acres. This list does not represent all lakes in Northwest Iowa, only the 7 Northwest Iowa lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Surface area in acres |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa Great Lakes (Iowa, Northwest Iowa, US Midwest Region, USA) |
13,420 ac | Also known as Big Spirit Lake, Little Spirit Lake, West Okoboji Lake, East Okoboji Lake, Gar Lakes, Center Lake, Silver Lake Most of the world equates Iowa with corn fields and election-year Straw Polls and has never heard of Iowa’s Great Lakes. Nestled in the Northwest Regi… |
| Spirit Lake, IA (Iowa, Northwest Iowa, US Midwest Region, USA) |
5,684 ac | Also known as Big Spirit Lake Spirit Lake is one of a chain of lakes known as Iowa’s Great Lakes. Also called Big Spirit Lake, this natural body of water was named by the Dakota Na… |
| West Okoboji Lake, IA (Iowa, Northwest Iowa, US Midwest Region, USA) |
3,847 ac | Also known as West Lake Okoboji West Okoboji Lake is one of Iowa’s eight Great Lakes located in Dickinson County. It was named “Minnetonka” by the Sioux Indians meaning “Great Waters… |
| Storm Lake, IA (Iowa, Northwest Iowa, US Midwest Region, USA) |
3,097 ac | Storm Lake is located in Buena Vista County in northern Iowa. At 3,097 acres, the lake is one of the largest natural lakes in the state. On the northe… |
| Okamanpeedan Lake, IA/MN (Iowa, Minnesota, Northwest Iowa, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,294 ac | Also known as Tuttle Lake Located in Martin County, Minnesota and Emmet County, Iowa, Okamanpeedan Lake is also known as Tuttle Lake. Okamanpeedan is Native American for “nesti… |
| East Okoboji Lake, IA (Iowa, Northwest Iowa, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,843 ac | Also known as East Lake Okoboji East Okoboji Lake is one of a chain of lakes known as Iowa’s Great Lakes. East Okoboji Lake received its unique name from the Dakota Indians. They cal… |
| Silver Lake, IA (Iowa, Northwest Iowa, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,041 ac | Silver Lake, a natural glacial lake spanning 1,041 acres, is located in northwestern Iowa bordering the town of Lake Park. It is one of the chain of l… |