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 |
|---|---|---|
| Caspian Sea (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Northern Caucases Region, Russia, Povolzhsky Region, Russia, Russia, Turkmenistan) |
107,737,946 ac | Also known as Mazandaran Sea, Khazar Sea, Khvalyn Sea With the largest volume of any saltwater “lake” on earth, the Caspian Sea holds well over 62 billion acre-feet of saltwater. Many classify the Caspian… |
| Lake Michigan-Huron (Canada, Chicagoland Region, IL, Great Lakes of North America, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Michigan Region, WI, Michigan, North Indiana, Northeast Michigan, Northwest Michigan, Ontario, Canada, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, West Central Michigan, Wisconsin) |
29,062,400 ac | Lake Michigan and Lake Huron – two of North America’s Great Lakes – are contiguous and they share the same elevation of 577 feet above sea level. They… |
| Lake Superior (Canada, Great Lakes of North America, Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, Michigan, Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, Wisconsin) |
20,288,000 ac | Skipping over state and country borders, Lake Superior, the largest, deepest, coldest, cleanest, least developed, and most pristine of the Great Lakes… |
| Lake Victoria, African Great Lakes (African Great Lakes, Central Uganda, Kagera Region, Tanzania, Kenya, Mara Region, Tanzania, Mwanza Region, Tanzania, Nyanza Region, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Western Region, Kenya) |
17,000,350 ac | Also known as Victoria Nyanza, Victoria Ukerewe, Victoria Nalubaale Lake Victoria — also known as Victoria Nyanza, Ukerewe, and Nalubaale — rakes in the superlatives: it is the largest lake on the African continent b… |
| Lake Huron (Canada, East Central Michigan, Great Lakes of North America, Michigan, Northeast Michigan, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI) |
14,726,400 ac | A glacial lake of epic proportions, Lake Huron is the second largest of the five Great Lakes by surface area, boasting 23,010 square miles and an incr… |
| Lake Michigan (Chicagoland Region, IL, Great Lakes of North America, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Michigan Region, WI, Michigan, North Indiana, Northwest Michigan, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, West Central Michigan, Wisconsin) |
14,336,000 ac | As the only Great Lake nestled completely within the boundaries of the United States, Lake Michigan is the pride and joy of Wisconsin, Illinois, India… |
| Lake Tanganyika, African Great Lakes (African Great Lakes, Burundi, Congo (DRC), Kigoma Region, Tanzania, Rukwa Region, Tanzania, Tanzania, Zambia) |
7,907,372 ac | Located in the Western Great Rift Valley of Africa, the crystal clear water of Lake Tanganyika reaches across four countries – Burundi, Zambia, Democr… |
| Lake Baikal, Russia (Eastern Siberia Region, Russia, Russia) |
7,782,336 ac | Also known as Lake Baykal, Sacred Sea, Pearl of Siberia, Blue Eye of Siberia, Galapagos of Russia Russia’s national treasure, Lake Baikal, is the world’s deepest lake and is our planet’s largest freshwater lake measured by water volume. Its bottom… |
| Great Bear Lake, NT (Canada, Northwest Territories, Canada) |
7,698,074 ac | Great Bear Lake is located in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is a natural lake, encircled by wilderness, and the largest lake completely in C… |
| Lake Malawi, African Great Lakes (African Great Lakes, Iringa Region, Tanzania, Malawi, Manda Wilderness Region, Mozambique, Mbeya Region, Tanzania, Mozambique, Ruvuma Region, Tanzania, Tanzania, The Lakeshore Region, Malawi) |
7,314,319 ac | Also known as Lake Nyasa, Lake Nyassa, Lake Niassa, Lago Niassa Located in the East African Rift Valley system between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, Lake Malawi — also known as Lake Nyasa, Lake Nyassa, Lake Nia… |
| Great Slave Lake, NT (Canada, Northwest Territories, Canada) |
6,721,280 ac | Great Slave Lake is the fifth-largest lake (by acreage) in North America and, following Great Bear Lake, is the second-largest in Canada. A natural la… |
| Lake Erie (Canada, Chautauqua-Allegheny Region, NY, Great Lakes Region, PA, Great Lakes of North America, Greater Niagara Region, NY, Michigan, New York, Northeast Ohio, Northwest Ohio, Ohio, Ontario, Canada, Pennsylvania, Southeast Michigan, US Mid-Atlantic Region, US Midwest Region, USA) |
6,261,500 ac | Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes of North America, straddles the borders of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, and the Canadian province of Onta… |