Largest lakes & reservoirs in 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 2151 articles we have published for lakes.
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Below are lakes within Compared by longest shoreline length in miles. This list does not represent all lakes in , only the 2151 lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name  |
Shoreline length in miles |
Lake description |
|---|---|---|
| Lake Wylie (North Carolina, Olde English District, SC, Piedmont Region, NC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
325 mi | Also known as Lake Wylie Reservoir Spanning the North Carolina-South Carolina border, Lake Wylie is the oldest reservoir on the Catawba River. First dammed in 1904, the dam was rebuilt… |
| Herrington Lake, KY (Bluegrass Region, KY, Kentucky, US South Region, USA) |
325 mi | Meandering 32 miles across the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky is Herrington Lake. The first large impoundment in Kentucky, Herrington Lake was created i… |
| Lake Te Anau, New Zealand (Fiordland Region, South Island, NZ, New Zealand, South Island, NZ) |
323 mi | Lake Te Anau, located in the southwestern corner of South Island in New Zealand, is situated with rolling hillside country on the eastern side and mag… |
| Cheatham Lake, TN (Middle Tennessee, Tennessee, US South Region, USA) |
320 mi | Middle Tennessee is blessed with a wealth of recreational opportunities created by Cheatham Lake. The lake itself is more properly called a wide spot… |
| Leech Lake, MN (Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
316 mi | With over 120,000 acres of water and 316 miles of shoreline, Leech Lake is the third largest lake located entirely in Minnesota, the “Land of 10,000 L… |
| Lake Fork, TX (Piney Woods Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
315 mi | Also known as Lake Fork Reservoir Lake Fork (also called Lake Fork Reservoir) covers an impressive 27,264 acres in northeast Texas, on the border of the Piney Woods and Prairies and La… |
| Lake Dardanelle, AR (Arkansas, River Valley Region, AR, US South Region, USA) |
315 mi | Also known as Dardanelle Lake Lake Dardanelle stretches out over more than 34,000 acres in the River Valley region of northwest Arkansas, sandwiched between the Ozark Mountains to… |
| Lake Marion, SC (Santee Cooper Country, SC, South Carolina, US South Region, USA) |
315 mi | The largest lake in South Carolina at 172 square miles, Lake Marion straddles five counties: Berkeley, Calhoun, Clarendon, Orangeburg, and Sumter. It… |
| Lake Nicaragua, Nicaragua (Boaco Region, Nicaragua, Chontales Region, Nicaragua, Granada Region, Nicaragua, Nicaragua, Rio San Juan Region, Nicaragua, Rivas Region, Nicaragua) |
300 mi | Also known as Lake Cocibolca, Lake Granada, Lago Cocibolca, Lago Granada Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America, is so large that it has many sea or ocean characteristics. Lago Cocibolca, the native name for th… |
| Warrior Lake, AL (Alabama, Metropolitan Region, AL, US South Region, USA) |
300 mi | Also known as Warrior Reservoir Warrior Lake is part of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee Lake system located in the diverse Metropolitan Tourism Region of Alabama. Six miles southeast of… |
| Lake Keowee, SC (South Carolina, The Upcountry, SC, US South Region, USA) |
300 mi | Lake Keowee is a freshwater lake located in northwestern South Carolina at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The lake supplies water to the n… |
| Stockton Lake, MO (Missouri, Southwest Missouri, US Midwest Region, USA) |
298 mi | Stockton Lake is a popular recreational reservoir covering 24,900 acres on the western edge of the scenic Missouri Ozarks. Though perhaps not as widel… |