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 |
|---|---|---|
| Delaware Lake, OH (Central Ohio, Ohio, US Midwest Region, USA) |
14,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Lake Delaware) Delaware Lake is a central Ohio reservoir designed and constructed by the Huntington District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps’ Ohio Riv… |
| Cherry Creek Reservoir, CO (Colorado, Denver Area, CO, US West Region, USA) |
13,960 ac-ft | (Also known as Cherry Creek Lake) Affectionately called “Denver’s Backyard,” Cherry Creek Lake and State Park provide recreation opportunities for families from all over. Located in Au… |
| Lake Lemon, IN (Indiana, South Central Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
13,920 ac-ft | Located in the beautiful rolling hills of southern Indiana, Lake Lemon can be found just a few miles northeast of Bloomington, Indiana. The natural sp… |
| Lake Overholser, OK (Frontier Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
13,913 ac-ft | Constructed in 1919, Lake Overholser is the oldest and smallest of three reservoirs that serve Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Connected to nearby Lake Hefne… |
| Fort Supply Lake, OK (Oklahoma, Red Carpet Country, OK, US Southwest Region, USA) |
13,900 ac-ft | With 1,800 acres of clear water, Fort Supply Lake in Woodward County, Oklahoma is an outdoor enthusiast’s ideal recreational area. The lake is located… |
| Tittabawassee Lakes (East Central Michigan, Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
13,899 ac-ft | (Also known as Secord Lake, Sanford Lake, Smallwood Lake, Wixom Lake) The Tittabawassee River is one of Michigan’s main river systems, draining lands in the Northeast and East Central Michigan regions into the Saginaw Ri… |
| 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… |
| Lake Macbride (East Central Iowa, Iowa, US Midwest Region, USA) |
13,548 ac-ft | One of east central Iowa’s best recreation lakes is Lake Macbride. Construction of the lake was first recommended in 1932, with the project adopted by… |
| Pleasant Hill Lake, OH (Northeast Ohio, Ohio, US Midwest Region, USA) |
13,500 ac-ft | (Also known as Pleasant Hill Reservoir) Crisp clean air, glistening blue water, and miles of picturesque nature describe the majestic beauty of Pleasant Hill Lake. Located near Perrysville,… |
| Lake Waxahachie (Prairies and Lakes Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
13,500 ac-ft | (Also known as Waxahachie Lake) One of many reservoirs in the Texas Prairies and Lakes Region, Lake Waxahachie was constructed to provide a municipal water supply to the nearby City… |
| Little Seneca Lake, MD (Capital Region, MD, Maryland, US Mid-Atlantic Region, USA) |
13,402 ac-ft | Little Seneca Lake, located near Boyds, Maryland, is the focal point of the Black Hill Regional Park and covers nearly 1/3 of its acreage. It lies in… |
| Lake Arbutus, WI (Central Sands Prairie Region, WI, Mississippi-Chippewa Rivers Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
13,397 ac-ft | Nestled in the northwest corner of the Black River State Forest near scenic Hatfield, Wisconsin, 839-acre Lake Arbutus offers visitors and residents e… |