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 |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Cumberland, KY (Kentucky, Southern Lakes Region, KY, US South Region, USA) |
50,250 ac | Lake Cumberland boasts an impressive 50,250 acres and 1,255 miles of winding shoreline at its normal full pool level of 723 feet above sea level. The… |
| Lake Laberge, YT (Canada, Yukon, Canada) |
49,668 ac | A famous poem by Robert Service forever immortalizes Lake Laberge and the wonders of the Yukon Territory. “There are strange things done ‘neath the mi… |
| Lake Pukaki, New Zealand (Christchurch - Canterbury Region, South Island, NZ, New Zealand, South Island, NZ) |
49,421 ac | Lake Pukaki in the Canterbury region of the South Island is a scenic delight. One of three glacial lakes that lie nearly parallel, the lake gets water… |
| Kerr Lake, NC/VA (North Carolina, Piedmont Region, NC, Southern Virginia Region, US South Region, USA, Virginia) |
48,900 ac | Also known as Kerr Reservoir, John H Kerr Reservoir, Buggs Island Lake, Buggs Island Reservoir The 48,900-acre John H. Kerr Reservoir straddles the Virginia-North Carolina border. This impoundment of the Roanoke and Dan Rivers, completed by the… |
| 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… |
| Lake Wanaka, New Zealand (New Zealand, South Island, NZ, Wanaka Region, South Island, NZ) |
47,445 ac | Formed by glaciers thousands of years ago and located on South Island, New Zealand, Lake Wanaka is New Zealand’s fourth largest lake and contains crys… |
| Lake Koocanusa, MT / Canada (British Columbia, Canada, Canada, Glacier Country, MT, Montana, US West Region, USA) |
46,720 ac | Also known as Koocanusa Lake, Koocanusa Reservoir In the far north of the United States, tucked into the northwestern end of Montana, is the long, narrow Lake Koocanusa. This lake is actually a man-ma… |
| 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… |
| Lake George, FL (Cross Florida, East Central Florida, Florida, US South Region, USA) |
46,000 ac | Lake George is the second largest lake in Florida, second only to Lake Okeechobee. Lake George is also the largest lake on the St. Johns River, about… |
| Bull Shoals Lake, AR/MO (Arkansas, Missouri, Ozarks Region, AR, Southwest Missouri, US Midwest Region, US South Region, USA) |
45,440 ac | Tucked in the Ozark Mountains, Bull Shoals Lake offers year round opportunities for relaxation and recreation. With over 45,000 surface acres of water… |
| Walter F. George Lake, AL/GA (Alabama, Georgia, Plantation Trace Region, GA, Presidential Pathways Region, GA, River Heritage Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
45,180 ac | Also known as Eufaula Lake, Walter F. George Reservoir, Lake Chattahoochee Walter F. George Lake straddles 85 miles of the Georgia/Alabama border along the Chattahoochee River. Visitors will see varying names for the lake dep… |
| Mono Lake, CA (California, High Sierra Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
44,762 ac | Mono Lake, located in California’s Eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains, has a long and rich history dating back to its formation over 760,000 years ago. S… |