Largest lakes & reservoirs in Northwest Michigan 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 24 articles we have published for Northwest Michigan lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Michigan > Northwest Michigan > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in Northwest Michigan, only the 24 Northwest Michigan 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… |
| Torch Lake, MI (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,635,927 ac-ft | Torch Lake holds the dual distinction as Michigan’s longest inland lake (18 miles) and its second largest inland lake (18,770 acres). The lake’s unpar… |
| Lake Bellaire (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
75,396 ac-ft | (Also known as Grass Lake) Michigan has a bounty of beautiful lakes, and those found in Antrim County are no exception. Lake Bellaire is situated to the east of Lake Michigan; t… |
| Otsego Lake MI (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
19,325 ac-ft | A plane’s deep droning in the distance becomes louder and louder as visitors at Otsego Lake look up towards the sky. Those new to the scene quickly re… |
| Silver Lake, MI (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
13,887 ac-ft | Pushing her kayak out into the water of Silver Lake, she glides through the early morning mist rising off the surface of the water. With steady, stron… |
| Upper Herring Lake (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
12,466 ac-ft | Upper Herring Lake is a modestly sized naturally occurring freshwater lake in the Traverse City Lakes area of Michigan, located in the northwestern pa… |
| Clam Lake (Michigan, Northwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
3,486 ac-ft | Clam Lake sparkles in the midst of northwest Michigan’s beautiful countryside. Tucked between Torch Lake and Lake Bellaire, Clam Lake is part of the l… |