Largest lakes & reservoirs in Switzerland 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 14 articles we have published for Switzerland lakes.
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Below are lakes within Switzerland > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in Switzerland, only the 14 Switzerland lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name | Water vol. in ac-ft | Lake description |
---|---|---|
Lake Geneva, France & Switzerland (France, Geneva Region, Switzerland, Rhone-Alps Region, Southern France, Southern France Region, Switzerland, Valais Region, Switzerland, Vaud Region, Switzerland) |
72,153,474 ac-ft | (Also known as Lac Leman) Shaped like a crescent moon, Lake Geneva is cradled in the Alps Mountain Range with two-thirds of its 104 shoreline miles in Switzerland and the other… |
Lake Constance (Austria, Baden-Wurttemberg Region, Germany, Germany, St. Gallen Region, Switzerland, Switzerland, Thurgau Region, Switzerland, Vorarlberg, Austria) |
44,589,225 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake of Constance, Lake Bodensee) Lake Constance is a 132,448-acre lake situated in the northern foothills of the Alps between Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The third-largest lake… |
Lake Maggiore, Italy / Switzerland (Italy, Lombardy Region, Italy, Piedmont Region, Italy, Switzerland, Ticino Region, Switzerland) |
29,996,388 ac-ft | Lake Maggiore, also known as Verbano, is Italy’s second largest lake. Although not quite as popular as the well-known Lake Como, the beautifully roman… |
Lake Neuchatel (Bern Region, Switzerland, Fribourg Region, Switzerland, Neuchatel Region, Switzerland, Switzerland, Vaud Region, Switzerland) |
11,349,985 ac-ft | (Also known as Lac de Neuchatel) Lake Neuchatel is the largest lake entirely within the borders of Switzerland, spanning almost 54,000 acres and reaching into four Swiss cantons (stat… |
Lake Lucerne CHE (Lucerne Region, Switzerland, Nidwalden Region, Switzerland, Obwalden Region, Switzerland, Schwyz Region, Switzerland, Switzerland, Uri Region, Switzerland) |
9,566,416 ac-ft | With a shoreline that rises steeply into the mountains to a height of more than 4,900 feet, Lake Lucerne is the fourth largest lake in Switzerland. It… |
Lake Thun (Bern Region, Switzerland, Switzerland) |
5,269,636 ac-ft | (Also known as Thunersee) Lying just north of the Alps in Switzerland’s Bern Region, Lake Thun is a favorite destination among holiday-makers. Reflecting the majestic Alpine pe… |
Lake Lugano (Italy, Lombardy Region, Italy, Switzerland, Ticino Region, Switzerland) |
5,269,635 ac-ft | (Also known as Lago di Lugano, Ceresio) Lake Lugano, which curls through southeastern Switzerland just south of the Swiss Alps and borders northern Italy, features the best of both of these… |
Lake Brienz, Switzerland (Bern Region, Switzerland, Switzerland) |
4,191,387 ac-ft | Lake Brienz (Brienzersee in Swiss) displays beautiful turquoise and emerald hues, colors often associated with shallow Caribbean waters. However, Lake… |
Lake Walen (Glarus Region, Switzerland, St. Gallen Region, Switzerland, Switzerland) |
2,026,783 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Walenstadt, Lake Walensee) Lake Walen spans almost 6,000 acres between the cantons (states) of Glarus and St. Gallen in the mountainous terrain of northeastern Switzerland. Lake… |
Lake Biel-Bienne (Bern Region, Switzerland, Neuchatel Region, Switzerland, Switzerland) |
907,999 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Biel, Bielersee, Lac de Bienne) Lake Biel-Bienne leads the parade of three lakes at the foot of the Jura Mountains region of Switzerland. Located in the Bern and Neuchatel cantons (s… |
Lake Greifensee (Switzerland, Zurich Region, Switzerland) |
119,986 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Greifen, Greifensee) Only 7 miles southeast of Zurich, Lake Greifensee has become a favored destination for holidays away from the big city. Located in the Canton of Zuric… |