Largest lakes & reservoirs in British Columbia, Canada by water volume
The estimated volume of water that a lake contains is measured at the lake’s normal elevation. By this measure, the world’s largest freshwater lake is Siberia’s Lake Baikal.Water Volume can be measured in acre-feet, in cubic miles, or in cubic kilometers. One acre-foot is the amount of water needed to cover one acre (43,560 square feet) to a depth of one foot. One cubic mile equals 3,379,200 acre-feet. One cubic kilometer equals 810,713 acre-feet. 1 acre-foot is equal to 325,851 US gallons. Siberia’s Lake Baikal contains about 6,276,367,740,000,000 gallons of freshwater – nearly 1 million gallons for every living person on earth.
The other – and more widely used – measure of a lake’s size is the lake’s surface acreage. By that measure, the world’s largest freshwater lake is North America’s Lake Superior.
Note: In the United States, an acre foot is a unit of volume used to refer to large-scale bodies of water. It is defined by the volume of water needed to cover 1 acre of surface area to a depth of 1 foot.
You can find many of the the world’s largest lakes (by water volume) on LakeLubbers. Note: For some lakes, the water volume data is unknown or does not apply, so you may see fewer lakes than the total 45 articles we have published for British Columbia, Canada lakes.
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Below are lakes within Canada > British Columbia, Canada > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in British Columbia, Canada, only the 45 British Columbia, Canada lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name | Water vol. in ac-ft | Lake description |
---|---|---|
Kootenay Lake, BC (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
29,753,174 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Kootenay) Kootenay Lake’s deep, clear waters stretch over 60 miles and 96,000 acres, reflecting the icy peaks of Kokanee Glacier. The lake is beautiful, ringed… |
Okanagan Lake, BC (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
19,943,545 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Okanagan) Okanagan Lake, located in British Columbia’s Napa of the North Country, is a vacationer’s paradise. Its sheer size and convenient location make this w… |
Shuswap Lake, BC (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
15,484,622 ac-ft | With 889 miles of shoreline and a multitude of provincial parks, 76,602-acre Shuswap Lake in the Southern Interior of British Columbia offers unlimite… |
Lake Koocanusa, MT / Canada (British Columbia, Canada, Canada, Glacier Country, MT, Montana, US West Region, USA) |
5,850,000 ac-ft | (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… |
Ross Lake (British Columbia, Canada, Canada, North Central Washington, US West Region, USA, Washington) |
770,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Ross Reservoir) Spectacular Ross Lake is one of the seldom seen gems in north-central Washington. This fantastic 22-mile long reservoir covers 11,680 acres along the… |
Christina Lake, BC (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
721,056 ac-ft | (Also known as Oasis of the Kootenays) Consistently rated one of Canada’s most popular family vacation destinations, Christina Lake offers some of the warmest lake waters in Canada. Located… |
Lake Osoyoos, WA / Canada (British Columbia, Canada, Canada, North Central Washington, US West Region, USA, Washington) |
266,800 ac-ft | (Also known as Osoyoos Lake) Lake Osoyoos spans more than 5,700 acres and straddles the border of British Columbia, Canada and Washington state in the United States. The Okanagan… |
Wood Lake, BC (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
161,737 ac-ft | Surrounded by mountains and beautiful scenery in the interior of British Columbia, Canada, Wood Lake is a 2,224-acre lake in a chain of five major rec… |
Alouette Lake (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
161,048 ac-ft | (Also known as Alouette Reservoir, Lillooet Lake (historic)) Only an hour away from big-city Vancouver, Alouette Lake provides a wilderness experience and a mountain view of beautiful Golden Ears Provincial Park… |
Buntzen Lake (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
36,758 ac-ft | (Also known as Trout Lake, Lake Beautiful-historic) Nestled beneath lush green mountains near the British Columbia coastline, beautiful Buntzen Lake offers a wealth of hiking enjoyment to recreation see… |
Seymour Lake (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
14,200 ac-ft | Seymour Lake may not be on everyone’s recreational radar, but this natural lake just outside of the town of Smithers, British Columbia certainly delig… |
Alta Lake, BC (British Columbia, Canada, Canada) |
7,732 ac-ft | (Also known as Summit Lake) Surrounded by one of North America’s top ski resorts, Alta Lake is located in the community of Whistler, British Columbia. Reflected on the glistening… |