List of largest lakes of the United States by area

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Scale depiction of the 15 largest lakes in the US Largest US Lakes.jpg
Scale depiction of the 15 largest lakes in the US

The following is a list of the 100 largest lakes of the United States by normal surface area. The top twenty lakes in size are as listed by the National Atlas of the United States , a publication of the United States Department of the Interior. The area given is the normal or average area of the lake. The area of some lakes fluctuates substantially. For those lakes partially in Canada or Mexico the area given for the lake is the total area, not just the part of the lake in the United States. Of the top 100 lakes, 55 are man-made and 45 are natural. Two lakes in the top 100 are primarily salt water, and two are primarily brackish water.

Contents

RankName U.S. states/Canadian provinces/Mexican states AreaTypeNotes
1 Lake Superior Michigan–Minnesota–Wisconsin–Ontario 31,700 sq mi82,103 km2natural [1]
2 Lake Huron Michigan–Ontario 23,000 sq mi59,570 km2natural [2]
3 Lake Michigan Illinois–Indiana–Michigan–Wisconsin 22,300 sq mi57,757 km2natural [3]
4 Lake Erie Michigan–New York–Ohio–Ontario–Pennsylvania 9,910 sq mi25,667 km2natural [3]
5 Lake Ontario New York–Ontario 7,340 sq mi19,011 km2natural [3]
6 Lake of the Woods Manitoba–Minnesota–Ontario 1,679 sq mi4,349 km2natural
7 Iliamna Lake Alaska 1,014 sq mi2,626 km2natural
8 Great Salt Lake Utah 950 sq mi2,460 km2naturalsalt [4]
9 Lake Oahe North Dakota–South Dakota 685 sq mi1,774 km2man-made [5]
10 Lake Okeechobee Florida 662 sq mi1,715 km2natural [6]
11 Lake Pontchartrain Louisiana 631 sq mi1,634 km2natural brackish [7]
12 Lake Sakakawea North Dakota 520 sq mi1,347 km2man-made
13 Lake Champlain New York–Vermont–Quebec 490 sq mi1,269 km2natural
14 Becharof Lake Alaska 453 sq mi1,173 km2natural
15 Lake St. Clair Michigan–Ontario 440 sq mi1,140 km2natural
16 Red Lake Minnesota 427 sq mi1,106 km2natural [8]
17 Selawik Lake Alaska 404 sq mi1,046 km2natural
18 Fort Peck Lake Montana 393 sq mi1,018 km2man-made
19 Salton Sea California 347 sq mi899 km2man-madesalt [9]
20 Rainy Lake Minnesota–Ontario 345 sq mi894 km2natural
21 Teshekpuk Lake Alaska 320 sq mi829 km2natural
22 Devils Lake North Dakota 300 sq mi777 km2natural [10] [11] [12] [13]
23 Toledo Bend Reservoir Louisiana–Texas 284 sq mi736 km2man-made
24 Lake Powell Arizona–Utah 251 sq mi650 km2man-made
25 Kentucky Lake Kentucky–Tennessee 250 sq mi647 km2man-made
26 Lake Mead Arizona–Nevada 247 sq mi640 km2man-made
27 Naknek Lake Alaska 242 sq mi627 km2natural
28 Lake Winnebago Wisconsin 215 sq mi557 km2natural
29 Mille Lacs Lake Minnesota 207 sq mi536 km2natural
30 Flathead Lake Montana 192 sq mi497 km2natural
31 Lake Tahoe California–Nevada 191 sq mi495 km2natural
32 Pyramid Lake Nevada 183 sq mi474 km2natural
33 Sam Rayburn Reservoir Texas 179 sq mi464 km2man-made
34 Eufaula Lake Oklahoma 169 sq mi438 km2man-made
* Tulare Lake California 168 sq mi435 km2naturalnormally a dry lake, melting snowpack and rainfall have left Tulare Lake at 168 square miles as of June 2023 [14]
35 Lake Marion South Carolina 165 sq mi427 km2man-made
36 Leech Lake Minnesota 161 sq mi417 km2natural
37 Utah Lake Utah 151 sq mi391 km2natural
38 Lake Francis Case South Dakota 149 sq mi386 km2man-made
39 Lake Pend Oreille Idaho 148 sq mi383 km2natural
40 Lake Texoma Oklahoma–Texas 139 sq mi360 km2man-made
41 Yellowstone Lake Wyoming 136 sq mi352 km2natural
42 Falcon Lake Tamaulipas–Texas 131 sq mi339 km2man-made
43 Lake Livingston Texas 130 sq mi337 km2man-made
44 Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake Washington 128 sq mi332 km2man-made
45 Lake Clark Alaska 120 sq mi311 km2natural
46 Moosehead Lake Maine 117 sq mi303 km2natural
47 Lake Strom Thurmond Georgia–South Carolina 111 sq mi287 km2man-made
48 Bear Lake Idaho–Utah 109 sq mi282 km2natural
49 Lake Guntersville Alabama 108 sq mi280 km2man-made
50 Lake St. Francis New York–Ontario–Quebec 105 sq mi272 km2man-made [15]
50 Wheeler Lake Alabama 105 sq mi272 km2man-made
52 Amistad Lake Coahuila–Texas 102 sq mi264 km2man-made
53 Klamath Lake Oregon 96 sq mi249 km2natural
54 Tustumena Lake Alaska 94 sq mi243 km2natural [16]
54 Lake Moultrie South Carolina 94 sq mi243 km2man-made
56 Lake Winnibigoshish Minnesota 91 sq mi236 km2natural
56 Lake Barkley Kentucky–Tennessee 91 sq mi236 km2man-made
58 Lake Sharpe South Dakota 89 sq mi231 km2man-made
59 American Falls Reservoir Idaho 88 sq mi228 km2man-made
60 Lake Hartwell Georgia–South Carolina 87 sq mi225 km2man-made
60 Truman Reservoir Missouri 87 sq mi225 km2man-made
62 Lake of the Ozarks Missouri 86 sq mi223 km2man-made
63 Oneida Lake New York 80 sq mi207 km2natural
64 Lake Cumberland Kentucky 79 sq mi205 km2man-made
65 Kerr Lake North Carolina–Virginia 78 sq mi202 km2man-made
66 Calcasieu Lake Louisiana 77 sq mi199 km2natural
67 Lake Murray South Carolina 75 sq mi194 km2man-made
68 Grand Lake o' the Cherokees Oklahoma 73 sq mi189 km2man-made
68 Lake Koocanusa British Columbia–Montana 73 sq mi189 km2man-made
70 Lake George Florida 72 sq mi186 km2naturalbrackish
71 Lake Winnipesaukee New Hampshire 71 sq mi184 km2natural
71 Bull Shoals Lake Arkansas–Missouri 71 sq mi184 km2man-made
71 Walter F. George Lake Alabama–Georgia 71 sq mi184 km2man-made
74 Lake Martin Alabama 69 sq mi179 km2man-made
75 Clear Lake California 68 sq mi176 km2natural
75 Robert S. Kerr Lake Oklahoma 68 sq mi176 km2man-made
75 Seneca Lake New York 68 sq mi176 km2natural
78 Pickwick Lake Alabama–Mississippi–Tennessee 67 sq mi174 km2man-made
78 Table Rock Lake Arkansas–Missouri 67 sq mi174 km2man-made
78 Cayuga Lake New York 67 sq mi174 km2natural
81 Flaming Gorge Reservoir Utah–Wyoming 66 sq mi171 km2man-made
82 Richland-Chambers Reservoir Texas 64 sq mi166 km2man-made
83 Lake Vermilion Minnesota 63 sq mi163 km2natural
83 Lake Ouachita Arkansas 63 sq mi163 km2man-made
83 Lake Mattamuskeet North Carolina 63 sq mi163 km2natural
86 Watts Bar Lake Tennessee 61 sq mi158 km2man-made
86 Lake Wallula Oregon–Washington 61 sq mi158 km2man-made
88 Lake Lanier Georgia 59 sq mi153 km2man-made
89 Lake Tawakoni Texas 57 sq mi148 km2man-made
89 Elephant Butte Lake New Mexico 57 sq mi148 km2man-made
89 Chickamauga Lake Tennessee 57 sq mi148 km2man-made
92 Grenada Lake Mississippi 55 sq mi142 km2man-made
92 Lake Kissimmee Florida 55 sq mi142 km2natural
94 Lake Dardanelle Arkansas 54 sq mi140 km2man-made
95 Norris Lake Tennessee 53 sq mi137 km2man-made
95 Canyon Ferry Lake Montana 53 sq mi137 km2man-made
97 Lake Chelan Washington 52 sq mi135 km2natural
98 Cedar Creek Lake Texas 51 sq mi132 km2man-made
98 Lake Norman North Carolina 51 sq mi132 km2man-made
98 Sardis Lake Mississippi 51 sq mi132 km2man-made

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ One of the Great Lakes; considered the largest lake in the United States by the National Atlas of the United States .
  2. ↑ Although it forms one a single hydrological unit with Lake Michigan (their surfaces are at the same elevation and the water flows in either direction in the channel separating them), they are generally considered distinct lakes, and Lake Michigan is generally considered the largest lake entirely within the United States, as Lake Huron and Lake Superior are binational (shared with Canada).
  3. 1 2 3 One of the Great Lakes.
  4. ↑ The largest salt water lake in the United States.
  5. ↑ Largest man-made lake (reservoir) by surface area in the United States.
  6. ↑ Largest lake in the South
  7. ↑ Often considered an estuary rather than a lake
  8. ↑ includes both Upper and Lower Red Lake
  9. ↑ highly variable in area
  10. ↑ The area of Devils Lake was taken from the summer 2011 record peak of 1,454.4 ft (443.3 m) MSL. Devils Lake has experienced severe flooding and has risen more than 31 feet (9.4 m) since 1993. Area has increased by 4 times.
  11. ↑ Devils Lake Elevation-Volume Table
  12. ↑ "USGS Devils Lake Flood History". Archived from the original on 2009-02-08. Retrieved 2011-09-30.
  13. ↑ National Weather Service Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service (NWS AHPS) for Devils Lake at Creel Bay
  14. ↑ Hubler, Shawn; Abramson, Mark (25 June 2023). "A Vast Lake Has Captivated California Where Farms Stood a Year Ago". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
  15. ↑ Part of St. Lawrence Seaway
  16. ↑ Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "Wildlife Viewing at Tustumena Lake Road - Kenai Peninsula, Alaska Department of Fish and Game". Adfg.alaska.gov. Retrieved 2022-10-21.

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