Largest lakes & reservoirs in South Carolina 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 15 articles we have published for South Carolina lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US South Region > South Carolina > Compared by surface area in acres. This list does not represent all lakes in South Carolina, only the 15 South Carolina lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Surface area in acres |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Marion, SC (Santee Cooper Country, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
110,600 ac | The largest lake in South Carolina at 172 square miles, Lake Marion straddles five counties: Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg, and Sumter. It… |
| J. Strom Thurmond Lake, GA/SC (Classic South Region, GA, Georgia, Old 96 District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
71,000 ac | Also known as Lake Strom Thurmond, J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir, Clarks Hill Lake, Thurmond Lake J. Strom Thurmond Lake, aka Clarks Hill Lake, holds the title of second largest artificial lake east of the Mississippi River. Straddling the Georgia-… |
| Lake Moultrie, SC (Santee Cooper Country, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
60,400 ac | Lake Moultrie is located 31 miles north of Charleston in the low country of South Carolina. The lake is renowned for both its fishing and its natural… |
| Hartwell Lake, GA/SC (Georgia, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, South Carolina, The Upcountry, SC, US South Region, USA) |
55,900 ac | Also known as Lake Hartwell So large it covers parts of six counties in two states, Lake Hartwell draws millions of visitors a year to play on its 56,000 acres of water. With ple… |
| Lake Murray, SC (Capital City & Lake Murray Country, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
48,000 ac | The kayak slips quietly through the water, dipping in and out of the finger coves that fringe the lake. The sun is just peeking over the horizon. For… |
| Richard B. Russell Lake, GA/SC (Georgia, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, Old 96 District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
26,650 ac | Also known as Lake Russell Richard B. Russell Lake, sometimes nicknamed Lake Russell, claims 26,650 sparkling acres and 540 miles of shoreline on the Georgia-South Carolina stat… |
| Lake Keowee, SC (South Carolina, The Upcountry, SC, US South Region, USA) |
18,372 ac | Lake Keowee is a freshwater lake located in northwestern South Carolina at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The lake supplies water to the n… |
| Lake Wateree, SC (Olde English District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
13,864 ac | Also known as Wateree Lake Lake Wateree lies 30 miles northeast of Columbia, South Carolina near Interstate 77. Duke Energy created the lake in 1920 by building a dam on the Cat… |
| Lake Wylie (North Carolina, Olde English District, SC, Piedmont Region, NC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
13,443 ac | Also known as Lake Wylie Reservoir Spanning the North Carolina-South Carolina border, Lake Wylie is the oldest reservoir on the Catawba River. First dammed in 1904, the dam was rebuilt… |
| Lake Greenwood, SC (Old 96 District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
11,400 ac | Lake Greenwood, located in the counties of Greenwood, Laurens, and Newberry, is one of South Carolina’s more popular lakes. Stretching 20 miles and wi… |
| Lake Jocassee, NC/SC (Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, South Carolina, The Upcountry, SC, US South Region, USA) |
7,500 ac | Nestled into the pristine Appalachian mountains of northwestern South Carolina and southwestern North Carolina, Lake Jocassee reaches its watery depth… |
| Fishing Creek Reservoir, SC (Olde English District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
3,112 ac | Also known as Nitrolee Dam, Fishing Creek Lake Fishing Creek Reservoir, on the Catawba River in the Old English Region of South Carolina is aptly named: the 3112-acre lake provides a steady source… |