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 |
|---|---|---|
| Shawano Lake, WI (Central Sands Prairie Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
6,178 ac | Tucked in the beautiful country of eastern Wisconsin, Shawano Lake is a hidden gem of beauty and splendor. This lake has an area of 6,178 acres, and h… |
| Lakes of Killarney, Ireland (Ireland, South West Ireland) |
6,178 ac | Also known as Killarney Lakes, Lough Leane, Lower Lake, Muckross Lake, Middle Lake, Upper Lake For more than 250 years, the beauty of Killarney Lakes has attracted royalty, world leaders, literary figures and now more than one and a half million… |
| Lake Thunderbird, OK (Frontier Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
6,070 ac | Also known as Thunderbird Reservoir, Thunderbird Lake No place could be better suited to recreation than Oklahoma’s Lake Thunderbird. Located in the Frontier Country Region, Lake Thunderbird provides recr… |
| Lake Wissota, WI (Mississippi-Chippewa Rivers Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
6,023 ac | Also known as Wissota Lake If you are a Titanic (the movie) fan, you might remember Jack Dawson saying that he grew up in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. He also mentioned that he us… |
| Rangeley Lake, ME (Lakes & Mountains Region, ME, Maine, US New England Region, USA) |
6,000 ac | Rangeley Lake is part of the Rangeley Lakes Region of Western Maine. The lake covers about 6,000 acres at an elevation of 1,518 feet. Its maximum dept… |
| North Long Lake, MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
5,998 ac | Also known as Brainerd Lakes Covering almost 6,000 acres, North Long Lake is one of the largest and most popular of the Brainerd Lakes. North Long Lake is located in the Central R… |
| Lake Walen (Glarus Region, Switzerland, St. Gallen Region, Switzerland, Switzerland) |
5,977 ac | Also known as Lake Walenstadt, Lake Walensee Lake Walen spans almost 6,000 acres between the cantons (states) of Glarus and St. Gallen in the mountainous terrain of northeastern Switzerland. Lake… |
| Saylorville Lake, IA (Central Iowa, Iowa, US Midwest Region, USA) |
5,950 ac | Also known as Saylorville Reservoir Saylorville Lake is a man-made reservoir located on the Des Moines River bordering the town of Polk City, about 11 miles north of Des Moines, Iowa. Th… |
| Raquette Lake (Adirondacks Region, NY, New York, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
5,935 ac | Also known as Racquette Lake Raquette Lake lies in the center of Adirondacks Park – a natural, unspoiled gem that draws nature enthusiasts from around the world. Raquette Lake (so… |
| Lake Coatepeque (El Salvador) |
5,931 ac | Also known as Coatepeque Lake, Laguna de Coatepeque, Lago de Coatepeque Considered one of the world’s most beautiful lakes, Lake Coatepeque is found in a caldera among a chain of volcanic peaks in northwest El Salvador. Su… |
| Lake Plastira (Greece, Thessaly Region, Greece) |
5,930 ac | Also known as Plastiras Lake, Tavropos Reservoir Lake Plastira, brought into existence in 1960 when the Tavropos Dam was built, has quickly developed into an international playground for visitors loo… |
| Lake Tuscaloosa, AL (Alabama, Metropolitan Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
5,885 ac | Located five miles north of the cities of Tuscaloosa and Northport in western Alabama (Metropolitan Region), Lake Tuscaloosa is a 5,885-acre reservoir… |