Largest lakes & reservoirs in Northwest Colorado 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 12 articles we have published for Northwest Colorado lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US West Region > Colorado > Northwest Colorado > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in Northwest Colorado, only the 12 Northwest Colorado lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Water vol. in ac-ft |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Dillon, CO (Colorado, Northwest Colorado, US West Region, USA) |
234,763 ac-ft | (Also known as Dillon Reservoir) Nestled in the middle of some of Summit County’s best skiing, Lake Dillon is the perfect year round getaway. With its rich history, fantastic sport fi… |
| Green Mountain Reservoir (Colorado, Northwest Colorado, US West Region, USA) |
154,600 ac-ft | Thousands of tourists and recreational guests come to the Colorado Rockies each year, never knowing that Green Mountain Reservoir is only a short dist… |
| Turquoise Lake (Colorado, Northwest Colorado, US West Region, USA) |
129,440 ac-ft | (Also known as Turquoise Reservoir) One of Colorado’s favorite high-altitude recreational destinations is Turquoise Lake. Located five miles west of vacation playground Leadville, 1,780-… |
| Wolford Mountain Reservoir (Colorado, Northwest Colorado, US West Region, USA) |
66,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Wolford Mountain Lake) As one of Colorado’s newest lakes, Wolford Mountain Reservoir is getting a lot of well-deserved attention. The reservoir was created in 1996 when Rits… |
| Steamboat Lake, CO (Colorado, Northwest Colorado, US West Region, USA) |
26,364 ac-ft | If fishing one “gold medal” lake is good, then two must be better – and that is just what you will find at Steamboat Lake in northwestern Colorado. Th… |
| Willow Creek Reservoir (Colorado, Northwest Colorado, US West Region, USA) |
10,553 ac-ft | A vital link in the chain of water projects that irrigate Colorado’s Eastern Slope, Willow Creek Reservoir is less-known and less crowded than many ne… |
| Pearl Lake, CO (Colorado, Northwest Colorado, US West Region, USA) |
5,657 ac-ft | (Also known as Lester Creek Reservoir) Capturing a scene from America’s West, Pearl Lake reflects pine-covered hills, rocky peaks and expansive blue skies typical of northwestern Colorado.… |
| Meadow Creek Reservoir (Colorado, Northwest Colorado, US West Region, USA) |
5,100 ac-ft | (Also known as Meadow Creek Lake) Meadow Creek Reservoir is a little Colorado lake with a well-deserved reputation as a desirable destination. Only 50 acres in size, the small reservoi… |
| Nottingham Lake, CO (Colorado, Northwest Colorado, US West Region, USA) |
100 ac-ft | (Also known as Benchmark Lake, Benchmark Lake Reservoir) Nottingham Lake sits at the heart of Avon, Colorado. A source of water, recreation and pride, Nottingham Lake is surrounded by the beauty of west cent… |