Largest lakes & reservoirs in 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 2151 articles we have published for lakes.
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Below are lakes within Compared by surface area in acres. This list does not represent all lakes in , only the 2151 lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Surface area in acres |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Kawartha Lakes (Canada, Ontario, Canada) |
67,403 ac | Also known as The Kawarthas The Kawartha Lakes are a band of beautiful lakes in south-central Ontario, Canada that form the upper watershed of the Trent River. Although 14 lakes… |
| Lake St. Francis, NY / Canada (Canada, New York, Ontario, Canada, Quebec, Canada, Thousand Islands Region, NY, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
67,213 ac | Also known as Lac Saint-Francois Lake St. Francis is part of the 2,340 mile system of locks, canals, and channels that link the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence… |
| Wheeler Lake, AL (Alabama, Mountains Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
67,070 ac | Also known as Wheeler Reservoir Wheeler Lake in northern Alabama’s Mountain Region is the state’s second-largest lake at 67,100 acres. The Tennessee Valley Authority created Wheeler… |
| 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’… |
| Lake Prespa (Albania, Florina Region, West Macedonia, Greece, Korce, Albania, Macedonia, West Macedonia Region, Greece, Western Macedonia Region) |
64,099 ac | Also known as Prespa Lakes “Three Countries, Two Lakes, One Future” is the motto of Prespa Park, the transnational park protecting Prespa Lake. The words provide balm for a regi… |
| Wular Lake (India, Jammu and Kashmir Region, North India, North India) |
64,000 ac | Also known as Wullar Lake Wular Lake, located in the Jammu and Kashmir region of northern India, is something of a mystery. The name Wular is believed to be a corruption of the… |
| Erhai Lake (China, Southwest China Region) |
62,080 ac | Also known as Er Lake, Yeyuze, Kunming Lake (historic) Known as the Pearl of the Plateau, Yunnan’s Erhai Lake has been enchanting both native and foreign visitors for thousands of years. Nestled like a shi… |
| Grande Lago (Portugal) |
61,776 ac | Also known as Alqueva Lake, Alqueva Dam Grande Lago, Portugal is Europe’s largest artificial lake. Created in 2002 to provide electricity and irrigation to Portugal’s Alentejo Region, Grande… |
| Upper Klamath Lake, OR (Oregon, Southern Oregon, US West Region, USA) |
61,544 ac | Stretching for an impressive 30 miles, Upper Klamath Lake is the largest freshwater lake in the State of Oregon. Nestled in the Klamath Basin, it is s… |
| 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… |
| Lake Winnibigoshish, MN (Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
58,544 ac | Also known as Lake Winnie Lake Winnibigoshish is a legend among Minnesota lakes. The lake’s impressive size, covering more than 58,500 acres, reaches into both the Northwest an… |
| Lake Barkley, KY/TN (Kentucky, Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA, Western Waterlands Region, KY) |
57,920 ac | Lake Barkley is one of the premier recreational destinations in Western Kentucky. The reservoir was created by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1966 for… |