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 Winnipeg, MB (Canada, Manitoba, Canada) |
5,867,520 ac | Lake Winnipeg is a long (271 miles) somewhat shallow outdoor enthusiast’s dream. It’s located some 35 miles north of Winnipeg, Manitoba and is a natur… |
| Lake Ontario (Canada, Finger Lakes Region, NY, Great Lakes of North America, Greater Niagara Region, NY, New York, Ontario, Canada, Thousand Islands Region, NY, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
4,697,600 ac | Lake Ontario, one of the world’s five Great Lakes, weaves over state and country borders, delighting Americans, Canadians, and visiting tourists with… |
| Lake Vostok, Antartica (Antarctica) |
4,500,000 ac | January 2013 Update: The Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute announced that the Russian team reached lake water ice on January 10, 2013, s… |
| Lake Ladoga, Russia (North-Western Region, Russia, Russia) |
4,481,238 ac | Also known as Lake Laatokka, Ladozhskoye Ozero Located 25 miles north of St. Petersburg, Russia’s Lake Ladoga is the largest freshwater body in Europe with a surface area of 4,481,238 acres. The am… |
| Lake Eyre, Australia (Australia, South Australia, Australia) |
2,394,451 ac | Lake Eyre is the largest lake in Australia and the world’s saltiest lake. Located in South Australia, Lake Eyre draws tourists due to its unusual patt… |
| Lake Volta, Ghana (Ghana, Volta Region, Ghana) |
2,096,000 ac | Also known as Volta Lake or Volta Reservoir Lake Volta, the world’s fourth largest reservoir, is located in the west African nation of Ghana. Known to locals as Volta Lake, it was built to provi… |
| Lake Titicaca, Bolivia / Peru (Bolivia, Peru) |
2,068,480 ac | Located on the border of Peru and Bolivia is the largest freshwater lake by volume in South America, Lake Titicaca. With an elevation of 12,507 feet,… |
| Lake Nicaragua, Nicaragua (Boaco Region, Nicaragua, Chontales Region, Nicaragua, Granada Region, Nicaragua, Nicaragua, Rio San Juan Region, Nicaragua, Rivas Region, Nicaragua) |
2,013,909 ac | Also known as Lake Cocibolca, Lake Granada, Lago Cocibolca, Lago Granada Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America, is so large that it has many sea or ocean characteristics. Lago Cocibolca, the native name for th… |
| Lake Athabasca, AB (Alberta, Canada, Canada, Saskatchewan, Canada) |
1,939,776 ac | Lake Athabasca is a 1,939,776-acre lake with a maximum depth of 410 feet making it the largest and deepest lake in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. Appr… |
| Lake Turkana, Kenya (Eastern Region, Kenya, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rift Valley Region, Kenya) |
1,667,961 ac | Also known as Lake Rudolf Lake Turkana, located in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya and stretching into Northern Ethiopia, is said to be the world’s largest permanent desert lake… |
| Kuybyshev Reservoir, Russia (Povolzhsky Region, Russia, Russia) |
1,593,823 ac | Also known as Kuybyshevskoye Reservoir, Kuibyshev Reservoir The Kuybyshev Reservoir or Kuybyshevskoye Reservoir is a 1,593,823-acre lake in the middle of the Volga and lower Kama rivers in west central (Middle… |
| Issyk Kul (Kyrgyzstan) |
1,540,949 ac | Also known as Ysyk Kol, Issyk-Kol Little-known Lake Issyk Kul in Kyrgyzstan is poised to become Central Asia’s most famous tourism destination. Popular among citizens of the former USS… |