Largest lakes & reservoirs in US Southwest 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 149 articles we have published for US Southwest Region lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Southwest Region > Compared by surface area in acres. This list does not represent all lakes in US Southwest Region, only the 149 US Southwest Region lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Surface area in acres |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Toledo Bend Reservoir, LA/TX (Crossroads Region, LA, Louisiana, Piney Woods Region, TX, Texas, US South Region, US Southwest Region, USA) |
181,600 ac | Also known as Toledo Bend Lake A grand experience is assured in visiting Toledo Bend Reservoir, renowned as the largest man-made aquatic body in the southern United States. Cradled… |
| Lake Powell, AZ/UT (Arizona, Canyonlands Region, UT, Color Country, UT, North Central Arizona, US Southwest Region, US West Region, USA, Utah) |
160,800 ac | Lake Powell is located in one of Southern Utah’s most picturesque red-rock desert areas and in Arizona’s Navajo Indian Reservation. It is one of the U… |
| Lake Mead, AZ/NV (Arizona, Las Vegas Territory, NV, Nevada, US Southwest Region, US West Region, USA, West Coast Region, AZ) |
157,900 ac | Lake Mead is the USA’s largest man-made reservoir in amount of water it can hold. Although Lake Powell is marginally larger in acreage at full-pond, L… |
| Sam Rayburn Reservoir, TX (Piney Woods Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
114,500 ac | Also known as Lake Sam Rayburn, McGee Bend Reservoir Sam Rayburn Reservoir, lovingly called “Big Sam”, and formerly known as McGee Bend Reservoir, is the largest lake which lies completely within Texas.… |
| Eufaula Lake, OK (Green Country, OK, Kiamichi Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
105,000 ac | Also known as Lake Eufaula Spanning 105,000 acres, Eufaula Lake covers much of McIntosh and Pittsburg Counties in eastern Oklahoma. This “Gentle Giant” is the largest lake in su… |
| Lake Texoma, OK/TX (Arbuckle Country, OK, Oklahoma, Prairies and Lakes Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
89,000 ac | Also known as Texoma Lake An 89,000-acre jewel set into the landscape of Texas and Oklahoma, Lake Texoma is a sparkling wonder of deep blue water and beautiful green shores. Wi… |
| Falcon Lake, TX / Mexico (Mexico, North Mexico, South Texas Plains Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
83,654 ac | Also known as Falcon International Reservoir WARNING – Fall 2010: Texas officials warn Americans visiting and boating on Falcon Lake to stay within USA waters and avoid the international boundary… |
| Lake Livingston, TX (Piney Woods Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
83,000 ac | Also known as Livingston Reservoir Sometimes referred to as a “water wonderland,” Lake Livingston is the second largest lake contained entirely within Texas. With over 450 miles of shor… |
| Lake Amistad, TX / Mexico (Hill Country Region, TX, Mexico, North Mexico, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
65,000 ac | Also known as International Amistad Reservoir The Spanish word “Amistad” translates to “Friendship” in English … little wonder, then, that west Texas’ Lake Amistad is one of the Lone Star State’… |
| Grand Lake O’the Cherokees, OK (Green Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
46,500 ac | Also known as Grand Lake Over the Cherokees Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees stands out as a sapphire jewel tucked into the northeastern Oklahoma landscape. Created in 1940, the reservoir stretches f… |
| Robert S. Kerr Reservoir, OK (Green Country, OK, Kiamichi Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
43,800 ac | Also known as Kerr Lake The Robert S Kerr Reservoir, located in east-central Oklahoma, is one of the most popular recreation destinations spanning the state’s Green Country a… |
| Richland Chambers Lake, TX (Prairies and Lakes Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
41,356 ac | Also known as Richland Chambers Reservoir Richland Chambers Lake (also called Richland Chambers Reservoir) was created between 1982 to 1987, making it the youngest lake in Texas. The Texas leg… |