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 |
|---|---|---|
| J. Edward Roush Lake, IN (East Indiana, Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
12,500 ac-ft | (Also known as Huntington Lake) J. Edward Roush Lake is one of three Upper Wabash Valley lakes and is situated in Huntington and Wells counties. The northeastern Indiana shoreline is… |
| 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… |
| East Fork Lake, IL (Illinois, Southern Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
12,460 ac-ft | (Also known as East Fork Reservoir) East Fork Lake, in the Southern Region of Illinois, is a well-kept secret in a land of many secrets. The southern third of Illinois has been known as… |
| Richmond Lake (Glacial Lakes & Prairies Region, SD, South Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
12,435 ac-ft | (Also known as Richmond Reservoir) Richmond Lake turned 75 years old in 2012. Built near Aberdeen during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression of the 1930s, Richmond Lake was one of 657 la… |
| Oliver Lake, AL (Alabama, Metropolitan Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
12,400 ac-ft | (Also known as William Bacon Oliver Lake) Oliver Lake is the smallest of six lakes formed by a series of locks and dams on the Black Warrior River near Tuscaloosa in west central (Metropolitan… |
| Buttermere (England, England's Northwest Region, United Kingdom) |
12,323 ac-ft | (Also known as The Lake District) Located among the western lakes in England’s Lake District, ruggedly beautiful Buttermere is one of a chain of three spectacular lakes. Running from n… |
| Lake Sara, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
12,007 ac-ft | (Also known as Sara Reservoir) Lake Sara – a refreshing oasis in central Illinois! What does a community like Effingham Illinois do when they run out of water? They build a reservoi… |
| Hardy Lake, IN (Indiana, South Indiana, US Midwest Region, USA) |
12,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Quick Creek Reservoir) Hardy Lake is located in south eastern Indian known as the southern plains and lowlands region. Wetlands, ponds, mudflats, deciduous woodlands and gra… |
| Lake Mattoon, IL (Central Illinois, Illinois, US Midwest Region, USA) |
11,820 ac-ft | Surrounded by farmlands in the Central region of Illinois is Lake Mattoon. A quiet and tranquil retreat for many Illinoisans and out-of-towners, the l… |
| Catfish Lake (Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
11,818 ac-ft | (Also known as Eagle River Chain of Lakes) Centerpiece of the Eagle River Chain of Lakes, Catfish Lake holds a special spot in the hearts of visitors to the Lake Superior Northwoods region of W… |
| Echo Lake MT (Glacier Country, MT, Montana, US West Region, USA) |
11,815 ac-ft | Tiny islands, curving coves and wide bays are part of the allure of northern Montana’s Echo Lake. Coupled with mountains, wildlife, and the smell of t… |
| Highland Lake, CT (Connecticut, Litchfield Hills Region, CT, US New England Region, USA) |
11,800 ac-ft | Highland Lake is a 444-acre lake nestled in the Berkshire Mountains of Litchfield County near the city of Winsted, Connecticut. Known as a resort lake… |