Largest lakes & reservoirs in New Mexico 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 10 articles we have published for New Mexico lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Southwest Region > New Mexico > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in New Mexico, only the 10 New Mexico lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Water vol. in ac-ft |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Elephant Butte Lake, NM (New Mexico, Southwest New Mexico, NM, US Southwest Region, USA) |
2,065,010 ac-ft | (Also known as The Butte, Elephant Butte Reservoir) With limited lake options in New Mexico, Elephant Butte Lake is a popular destination for water enthusiasts and nature lovers alike in the Land of Enc… |
| Navajo Lake NM (Colorado, New Mexico, Northwest New Mexico, NM, Southeast Colorado, US Southwest Region, US West Region, USA) |
1,036,100 ac-ft | (Also known as Navajo Reservoir) Navajo Lake offers a surprising and welcome expanse of water in northwestern New Mexico. The 15,600-acre reservoir stretches north into southwest Colo… |
| Cochiti Lake, NM (New Mexico, North-Central, NM, US Southwest Region, USA) |
582,019 ac-ft | Stretching 7 miles long on the Rio Grande River, Cochiti Lake is located in Sandoval County, New Mexico, about 20 miles west of Santa Fe and 60 miles… |
| Caballo Lake (New Mexico, Southwest New Mexico, NM, US Southwest Region, USA) |
346,985 ac-ft | (Also known as Caballo Reservoir) One of the little-known treasures in New Mexico’s Southwest region is Caballo Lake. This 11,000-acre reservoir along the Rio Grande River escapes the… |
| Brantley Lake (New Mexico, Southeast New Mexico, NM, US Southwest Region, USA) |
335,054 ac-ft | (Also known as Brantley Reservior) No place in Southeast New Mexico represents water recreation like Brantley Lake. The relatively new reservoir has a state park along its shores, compl… |
| Conchas Lake, NM (New Mexico, Northeast New Mexico, NM, US Southwest Region, USA) |
315,735 ac-ft | Conchas Lake stretches 11 miles southwest along the Conchas River, and about 14 miles along the South Canadian River in eastern New Mexico. Located no… |
| El Vado Lake, NM (New Mexico, North-Central, NM, US Southwest Region, USA) |
195,440 ac-ft | (Also known as El Vado Reservoir) El Vado Lake, situated in New Mexico’s northern mountains, is located west of Tierra Amarilla in Rio Arriba Counnty. Surrounded by acres of mixed juni… |
| Abiquiu Lake, NM (New Mexico, North-Central, NM, US Southwest Region, USA) |
113,735 ac-ft | (Also known as Abiquiu Reservoir) Abiquiu Lake, located in Rio Arriba County in North-Central New Mexico, offers recreation areas for swimming, camping, fishing, boating, canoeing, kay… |
| Santa Rosa Lake, NM (New Mexico, Northeast New Mexico, NM, US Southwest Region, USA) |
92,679 ac-ft | Santa Rosa Lake is snuggled in the Pecos River Canyon near the town of Santa Rosa along NM 91 in Guadalupe County. It is cradled on one side with acre… |
| Fenton Lake (New Mexico, Northwest New Mexico, NM, US Southwest Region, USA) |
264 ac-ft | Tucked away in the Jemez Mountains of Northwest New Mexico, little Fenton Lake carries a large part of the recreational opportunities in the area. Les… |