Largest lakes & reservoirs in Indiana 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 38 articles we have published for Indiana lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Indiana > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in Indiana, only the 38 Indiana lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Water vol. in ac-ft |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| 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) |
6,858,776,000 ac-ft | 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 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) |
3,987,456,000 ac-ft | 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… |
| Brookville Lake, IN (Indiana, South Central Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
184,900 ac-ft | (Also known as Brookville Reservoir) Nestled in the heart of the Whitewater River Valley, Brookville Lake is a gorgeous body of water providing water storage and many fine recreational ac… |
| Monroe Lake, IN (Indiana, South Central Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
182,250 ac-ft | (Also known as Monroe Reservoir, Lake Monroe) The largest lake in Indiana, Monroe Lake is also one of the state’s most scenic. Set among the rolling wooded hills, limestone bluffs overlook the 10,… |
| Patoka Lake, IN (Indiana, South Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
167,290 ac-ft | Patoka Lake lies nestled within the Hoosier National Forest in southern Indiana. Authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1965, the U.S. Army Corps of E… |
| Mississinewa Lake, IN (East Indiana, Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
75,200 ac-ft | (Also known as Mississinewa Reservoir) Visitors to north central Indiana will find myriad recreational activities, surrounded by unspoiled, scenic beauty at Mississinewa Lake. This 3,180-ac… |
| Lake Wawasee, IN (Indiana, North Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
75,020 ac-ft | Among the gently rolling hills of Amish country you will find Lake Wawasee, Indiana’s largest natural lake. Whether you come for the scenery or recrea… |
| Gibson Lake, IN (Indiana, South Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
69,800 ac-ft | (Also known as Broad Pond) Gibson Lake, located in southwestern Indiana just north of Interstate 64, holds the record for the largest lake built completely above ground in the s… |
| Salamonie Lake, IN (East Indiana, Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
60,700 ac-ft | (Also known as Salamonie Reservoir) Salamonie Lake is a large, unspoiled reservoir spanning the border of both Huntington and Wabash Counties in north central Indiana. The lake is part o… |
| Cecil M. Harden Lake, IN (Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA, West Indiana) |
49,262 ac-ft | (Also known as Raccoon Lake) Located in west central Indiana, the Cecil M. Harden Lake is a naturalist’s delight and lies largely in Parke County and extends into Putnam County. R… |
| Lake Maxinkuckee, IN (Indiana, North Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
45,600 ac-ft | Lake Maxinkuckee is a vibrant 1,850-acre lake in the north-central part of Indiana and is the state’s second largest natural lake. The oblong-shaped l… |
| Lake James, IN (Indiana, North Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
33,171 ac-ft | Roughly 10,000 years ago the same receding glaciers that filled the Great Lakes created kettle holes in Northeast Indiana that resulted in a chain of… |