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 |
|---|---|---|
| Donnells Reservoir (California, High Sierra Region, CA, US West Region, USA) |
63,309 ac-ft | (Also known as Donnells Lake, Donnell Lake) Donnells Reservoir is one of the Central Sierra’s most picturesque lakes. Sometimes called Donnell Lake, it has its own dedicated viewing location and… |
| Yatesville Lake (Appalachians Region, KY, Kentucky, US South Region, USA) |
63,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Yatesville Lake State Park) The newest star in the Kentucky Appalachians region is Yatesville Lake. Very young as lakes go, Yatesville Lake was created in 1991 when the US Army C… |
| Wappapello Lake, MO (Missouri, Southeast Missouri, US Midwest Region, USA) |
63,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Wappapello) Wappapello Lake is a Missouri gem, located in the foothills of the Ozark Mountains in the southeastern region of the state. Although some larger Misso… |
| Lake Wentworth (Lakes Region, NH, New Hampshire, US New England Region, USA) |
62,928 ac-ft | One of the prettiest lakes in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region is Lake Wentworth. All too often overlooked as tourists flock to nearby Lake Winnipesaukee,… |
| Fulton Chain of Lakes, NY (Adirondacks Region, NY, New York, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
62,784 ac-ft | (Also known as Fulton Lakes, Fulton Chain) The Fulton Chain of Lakes is a string of eight sparkling lakes located in the scenic Central Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. The chain begin… |
| Lake Chatuge, GA/NC (Georgia, Mountains Region, NC, North Carolina, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, US South Region, USA) |
62,619 ac-ft | (Also known as Chatuge Lake, Chatuge Reservoir) Beautiful Lake Chatuge (pronounced “sha-toog”) spans 7200 acres and two states, stretching 13 miles from Hayesville, North Carolina, to Hiawassee, Geo… |
| Lake Minatare, NE (Nebraska, Panhandle Region, NE, US Midwest Region, USA) |
62,190 ac-ft | In the western strip of Nebraska known as “the Panhandle” lies the 2,158 acre Lake Minatare. This reservoir is located in Nebraska’s North Platte Vall… |
| White Lake MI (Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, West Central Michigan) |
61,614 ac-ft | Will White Lake again become the economic driver for the cities of Whitehall and Montague in Michigan’s West Central Region? That’s entirely possible… |
| Lake Nottely, GA (Georgia, Northeast Georgia Mountains Region, US South Region, USA) |
61,588 ac-ft | (Also known as Nottely Reservoir) Lake Nottely is one of the best kept secrets in Georgia. The small mountain lake with deep clear water is just two hours from Atlanta, yet most water… |
| Lake Wister, OK (Kiamichi Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
61,423 ac-ft | (Also known as Wister Lake, Wister Reservoir) Lake Wister, in southeastern Oklahoma’s Kiamichi Country, is a reservoir created by damming the Poteau River — the only river that flows north in Okl… |
| Salamonie Lake, IN (East Indiana, Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
60,700 ac-ft | (Also known as Salamonie Reservoir) Salamonie Lake is a large, unspoiled reservoir spanning the border of both Huntington and Wabash Counties in north central Indiana. The lake is part o… |
| Aliceville Lake, AL/MS (Alabama, Metropolitan Region, AL, Mississippi, Pines Region, MS, US South Region, USA) |
60,400 ac-ft | (Also known as Pickensville Lake) Aliceville Lake, known to fishing locals as Pickensville Lake, is one of 10 lakes on the 234-mile man-made Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. The Tenn-Tom,… |