Largest lakes & reservoirs in US Midwest Region by shoreline length
The length of the exterior shoreline around a lake is measured at the lake’s normal elevation. The shoreline length can be considerably shorter or longer when lake water levels are lower or higher than normal. A lake with many coves has a much longer shoreline than a lake of similar surface area that is nearly circular in shape.When known, the shoreline miles that we report in our statistics include only the lake’s exterior shoreline, and exclude the shorelines of islands located within a lake’s boundaries. In lakes with many islands, those islands’ combined shorelines may exceed a lake’s exterior shoreline.
You can find many of the world’s longest-shoreline lakes on LakeLubbers. Note: For some lakes, "Longest Shorelines" data is unknown or does not apply, so this table may display fewer lakes than the total 516 articles we have published for US Midwest Region lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Compared by longest shoreline length in miles. This list does not represent all lakes in US Midwest Region, only the 516 US Midwest Region lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Shoreline length in miles |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake of the Woods, MN / Canada (Canada, Manitoba, Canada, Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA) |
25,000 mi | Spanning the border from Minnesota into the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, Lake of the Woods is an enormous body of water over 68 miles l… |
| Lake Michigan-Huron (Canada, Chicagoland Region, IL, Great Lakes of North America, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Michigan Region, WI, Michigan, North Indiana, Northeast Michigan, Northwest Michigan, Ontario, Canada, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, West Central Michigan, Wisconsin) |
5,463 mi | Lake Michigan and Lake Huron – two of North America’s Great Lakes – are contiguous and they share the same elevation of 577 feet above sea level. They… |
| Lake Huron (Canada, East Central Michigan, Great Lakes of North America, Michigan, Northeast Michigan, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI) |
3,825 mi | A glacial lake of epic proportions, Lake Huron is the second largest of the five Great Lakes by surface area, boasting 23,010 square miles and an incr… |
| Lake Superior (Canada, Great Lakes of North America, Lake Superior Northwoods Region, WI, Michigan, Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, Wisconsin) |
2,726 mi | Skipping over state and country borders, Lake Superior, the largest, deepest, coldest, cleanest, least developed, and most pristine of the Great Lakes… |
| Lake Oahe, ND/SD (Great Lakes Region, SD, North Dakota, South Central Region, ND, South Dakota, Southwest Region, ND, US Midwest Region, USA) |
2,250 mi | Lake Oahe, named after an Oahe Indian Mission, roughly translates “a foundation” or “a place to stand on.” Spanning 231 miles from Pierre, South Dakot… |
| Lake Michigan (Chicagoland Region, IL, Great Lakes of North America, Illinois, Indiana, Lake Michigan Region, WI, Michigan, North Indiana, Northwest Michigan, Southwest Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA, Upper Peninsula Region, MI, West Central Michigan, Wisconsin) |
1,638 mi | As the only Great Lake nestled completely within the boundaries of the United States, Lake Michigan is the pride and joy of Wisconsin, Illinois, India… |
| Lake Sakakawea, ND (North Dakota, Northwest Region, ND, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,340 mi | The second-largest reservoir by surface acreage in the United States (and third-largest in volume), Lake Sakakawea stretches 178 miles from Garrison D… |
| Lake of the Ozarks, MO (Central Missouri, Missouri, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,150 mi | Also known as Lake Ozark Painting plains of central Missouri a liquid blue, Lake of the Ozarks snakes its way through the landscape. Just 180 miles from St. Louis and 170 mile… |
| Devil’s Lake, ND (North Central Region, ND, North Dakota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
1,000 mi | Also known as Devils Lake Spring 2011: Water levels continue to rise with melting snow and spring rains, reaching 1,453 feet above sea level and about 177,000 acres in April. A… |
| Harry S. Truman Lake, MO (Central Missouri, Missouri, US Midwest Region, USA) |
958 mi | Also known as Harry S. Truman Reservoir, Truman Lake It looks a like a reel of film perched on a bluff; it is the visitor center overlooking Truman Lake. The round wall of windows offers a panoramic view… |
| Rainy Lake, MN / Canada (Canada, Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota, Ontario, Canada, US Midwest Region, USA) |
929 mi | Rainy Lake’s sprawling 221,000 acres straddle the border of the United States and Canada. Known as a water sports lover’s paradise, Rainy Lake is loca… |
| Lake Erie (Canada, Chautauqua-Allegheny Region, NY, Great Lakes Region, PA, Great Lakes of North America, Greater Niagara Region, NY, Michigan, New York, Northeast Ohio, Northwest Ohio, Ohio, Ontario, Canada, Pennsylvania, Southeast Michigan, US Mid-Atlantic Region, US Midwest Region, USA) |
871 mi | Lake Erie, one of the Great Lakes of North America, straddles the borders of Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, and the Canadian province of Onta… |