Largest lakes & reservoirs in 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 2151 articles we have published for lakes.
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Below are lakes within Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in , only the 2151 lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Water vol. in ac-ft |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| McGee Creek Lake, OK (Arbuckle Country, OK, Kiamichi Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
100,146 ac-ft | (Also known as McGee Creek Reservoir) McGee Creek Lake provides a rare surprise for visitors to southeastern Oklahoma. Hidden in the rugged, heavily-forested Ouachita Mountains, McGee Cree… |
| Round Lake, WI (Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
100,146 ac-ft | (Also known as Hayward Lakes) Nestled in Wisconsin’s Northwoods, Round Lake in Sawyer County is a fantastic place to boat and fish. Part of the Hayward Lakes that include Grindston… |
| Los Vaqueros Reservoir (Bay Area Region, CA, California, US West Region, USA) |
100,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Los Vaqueros Lake) The Los Vaqueros Reservoir in the San Francisco Bay area is being remodeled! Soon to be re-opened, Los Vaqueros Lake is going to be even bigger and be… |
| Castaic Lake, CA (California, Los Angeles County, CA, US West Region, USA) |
100,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Castaic) Almost every lake promises something for everyone, but Castaic Lake in Los Angeles County, California delivers. With separate sections of its 2,427 ac… |
| Lake Claiborne, LA (Louisiana, Sportsman's Paradise Region, LA, US South Region, USA) |
99,500 ac-ft | Lake Claiborne is well known as the “Best Kept Secret in Louisiana.” Also referred to as Louisiana’s purest lake, the quality of the water makes Lake… |
| China Lake (Kennebec & Moose River Valleys Region, ME, Maine, US New England Region, USA) |
98,922 ac-ft | China Lake is less than 20 miles northwest of Augusta, Maine’s state capital. This natural freshwater glacial lake rests in Kennebec County in southwe… |
| Big Stone Lake, MN/SD (Central Minnesota, Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region, SD, Minnesota, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
98,880 ac-ft | Big Stone Lake’s sparkling blue water covers 12,360 acres and forms the border between western Minnesota and northeastern South Dakota. This picturesq… |
| Beardsley Lake (California, High Sierra Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
97,500 ac-ft | (Also known as Beardsley Reservior, Beardsley Lake Reservoir) Nearly 60 years ago, the effort to provide water to the orchards and farms in California’s Central Valley brought about the creation of beautiful Bear… |
| Neegronda Reservoir, CO (Colorado, Southeast Colorado, US West Region, USA) |
97,069 ac-ft | (Also known as Nee Gronda Reservoir) Flocks of snow geese skim golden short grass prairie to land on the precious water of Neegronda Reservoir. Dotted with cottonwood trees around its sho… |
| North Long Lake, MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
96,098 ac-ft | (Also known as Brainerd Lakes) Covering almost 6,000 acres, North Long Lake is one of the largest and most popular of the Brainerd Lakes. North Long Lake is located in the Central R… |
| Lake Ellsworth, OK (Great Plains Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
95,200 ac-ft | Lake Ellsworth is a 5,600-acre reservoir nestled in the Great Plains region of Southwest Oklahoma. The City of Lawton completed Ellsworth Dam in 1962,… |
| Leesville Lake, VA (Central Virginia, Southern Virginia Region, US South Region, USA, Virginia) |
94,960 ac-ft | (Also known as Leesville Reservoir) The 3000+ acre Leesville Lake is another of Virginia’s prolific fishing and outdoor recreation reservoirs. It is part of the Smith Mountain Lake hydro… |