Largest lakes & reservoirs in Georgia 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 40 articles we have published for Georgia lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US South Region > Georgia > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in Georgia, only the 40 Georgia lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Water vol. in ac-ft |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Hartwell Lake, GA/SC (Georgia, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, South Carolina, The Upcountry, SC, US South Region, USA) |
2,550,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Hartwell) So large it covers parts of six counties in two states, Lake Hartwell draws millions of visitors a year to play on its 56,000 acres of water. With ple… |
| Lake Lanier, GA (Georgia, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, US South Region, USA) |
1,957,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Sidney Lanier) Lake Sidney Lanier, better known as Lake Lanier, stretches out over 38,000 acres and 692 miles of shoreline along the foothills of the Blue Ridge Moun… |
| J. Strom Thurmond Lake, GA/SC (Classic South Region, GA, Georgia, Old 96 District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
1,730,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Strom Thurmond, J. Strom Thurmond Reservoir, Clarks Hill Lake, Thurmond Lake) J. Strom Thurmond Lake, aka Clarks Hill Lake, holds the title of second largest artificial lake east of the Mississippi River. Straddling the Georgia-… |
| Richard B. Russell Lake, GA/SC (Georgia, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, Old 96 District, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
1,066,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Russell) Richard B. Russell Lake, sometimes nicknamed Lake Russell, claims 26,650 sparkling acres and 540 miles of shoreline on the Georgia-South Carolina stat… |
| Walter F. George Lake, AL/GA (Alabama, Georgia, Plantation Trace Region, GA, Presidential Pathways Region, GA, River Heritage Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
934,400 ac-ft | (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… |
| West Point Lake, AL/GA (Alabama, Georgia, Metropolitan Region, AL, Presidential Pathways Region, GA, US South Region, USA) |
604,527 ac-ft | West Point Lake, located on the Alabama-Georgia border just north of I-85, stretches 35 miles along the Chattahoochee River. The 25,900-acre reservoir… |
| Lake Oconee, GA (Classic South Region, GA, Georgia, Historic Heartland Region, GA, US South Region, USA) |
470,000 ac-ft | Lake Oconee takes its name from a group of Creek Indians that long ago lived close to Georgia’s Oconee River basin. “Oconee” is purported to mean “gre… |
| Carters Lake, GA (Georgia, Historic High Country Region, GA, US South Region, USA) |
383,600 ac-ft | Positioned at the south end of the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains in North Georgia, Carters Lake is a small, deep lake with a little over 60 miles of s… |
| Lake Allatoona, GA (Georgia, Historic High Country Region, GA, US South Region, USA) |
367,500 ac-ft | (Also known as Allatoona Lake) Lake Allatoona, located northwest of Atlanta, is one of the most visited Army Corps of Engineers lakes in the United States. With a shoreline of 270 m… |
| Lake Sinclair, GA (Classic South Region, GA, Georgia, Historic Heartland Region, GA, US South Region, USA) |
330,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Sinclair Lake) With 15,330 acres of sparkling water against the backdrop of the Oconee National Forest, Lake Sinclair in Georgia is an outdoor enthusiast’s premier d… |
| Lake Burton, GA (Georgia, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, US South Region, USA) |
103,000 ac-ft | Lake Burton is the first and largest reservoir in a series of lakes managed by Georgia Power Company, called the North Georgia Hydro Group. Its 2,775… |
| Lake Blackshear, GA (Georgia, Presidential Pathways Region, GA, US South Region, USA) |
88,641 ac-ft | One of the best-kept secrets in southwest Georgia is Lake Blackshear. Conveniently located two hours south of Atlanta and 99 miles from Florida off I-… |