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.

Rank Name U.S. states/Canadian provinces/Mexican states Area Type Notes
1 Lake Superior Michigan–Minnesota–Wisconsin–Ontario 31,700 sq mi 82,103 km2 natural [1]
2 Lake Huron Michigan–Ontario 23,000 sq mi 59,570 km2 natural [2]
3 Lake Michigan Illinois–Indiana–Michigan–Wisconsin 22,300 sq mi 57,757 km2 natural [3]
4 Lake Erie Michigan–New York–Ohio–Ontario–Pennsylvania 9,910 sq mi 25,667 km2 natural [3]
5 Lake Ontario New York–Ontario 7,340 sq mi 19,011 km2 natural [3]
6 Lake of the Woods Manitoba–Minnesota–Ontario 1,679 sq mi 4,349 km2 natural
7 Iliamna Lake Alaska 1,014 sq mi 2,626 km2 natural
8 Great Salt Lake Utah 950 sq mi 2,460 km2 natural salt[4]
9 Lake Oahe North Dakota–South Dakota 685 sq mi 1,774 km2 man-made [5]
10 Lake Okeechobee Florida 662 sq mi 1,715 km2 natural [6]
11 Lake Pontchartrain Louisiana 631 sq mi 1,634 km2 natural brackish[7]
12 Lake Sakakawea North Dakota 520 sq mi 1,347 km2 man-made
13 Lake Champlain New York–Vermont–Quebec 490 sq mi 1,269 km2 natural
14 Becharof Lake Alaska 453 sq mi 1,173 km2 natural
15 Lake St. Clair Michigan–Ontario 440 sq mi 1,140 km2 natural
16 Red Lake Minnesota 427 sq mi 1,106 km2 natural [8]
17 Selawik Lake Alaska 404 sq mi 1,046 km2 natural
18 Fort Peck Lake Montana 393 sq mi 1,018 km2 man-made
19 Salton Sea California 347 sq mi 899 km2 man-made salt[9]
20 Rainy Lake Minnesota–Ontario 345 sq mi 894 km2 natural
21 Teshekpuk Lake Alaska 320 sq mi 829 km2 natural
22 Devils Lake North Dakota 300 sq mi 777 km2 natural [10][11][12][13]
23 Toledo Bend Reservoir Louisiana–Texas 284 sq mi 736 km2 man-made
24 Lake Powell Arizona–Utah 251 sq mi 650 km2 man-made
25 Kentucky Lake Kentucky–Tennessee 250 sq mi 647 km2 man-made
26 Lake Mead Arizona–Nevada 247 sq mi 640 km2 man-made
27 Naknek Lake Alaska 242 sq mi 627 km2 natural
28 Lake Winnebago Wisconsin 215 sq mi 557 km2 natural
29 Mille Lacs Lake Minnesota 207 sq mi 536 km2 natural
30 Flathead Lake Montana 192 sq mi 497 km2 natural
31 Lake Tahoe California–Nevada 191 sq mi 495 km2 natural
32 Pyramid Lake Nevada 183 sq mi 474 km2 natural
33 Sam Rayburn Reservoir Texas 179 sq mi 464 km2 man-made
34 Eufaula Lake Oklahoma 169 sq mi 438 km2 man-made
* Tulare Lake California 168 sq mi 435 km2 natural normally 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 mi 427 km2 man-made
36 Leech Lake Minnesota 161 sq mi 417 km2 natural
37 Utah Lake Utah 151 sq mi 391 km2 natural
38 Lake Francis Case South Dakota 149 sq mi 386 km2 man-made
39 Lake Pend Oreille Idaho 148 sq mi 383 km2 natural
40 Lake Texoma Oklahoma–Texas 139 sq mi 360 km2 man-made
41 Yellowstone Lake Wyoming 136 sq mi 352 km2 natural
42 Falcon Lake Tamaulipas–Texas 131 sq mi 339 km2 man-made
43 Lake Livingston Texas 130 sq mi 337 km2 man-made
44 Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake Washington 128 sq mi 332 km2 man-made
45 Lake Clark Alaska 120 sq mi 311 km2 natural
46 Moosehead Lake Maine 117 sq mi 303 km2 natural
47 Lake Strom Thurmond Georgia–South Carolina 111 sq mi 287 km2 man-made
48 Bear Lake Idaho–Utah 109 sq mi 282 km2 natural
49 Lake Guntersville Alabama 108 sq mi 280 km2 man-made
50 Lake St. Francis New York–Ontario–Quebec 105 sq mi 272 km2 man-made [15]
50 Wheeler Lake Alabama 105 sq mi 272 km2 man-made
52 Amistad Lake Coahuila–Texas 102 sq mi 264 km2 man-made
53 Klamath Lake Oregon 96 sq mi 249 km2 natural
54 Tustumena Lake Alaska 94 sq mi 243 km2 natural [16]
54 Lake Moultrie South Carolina 94 sq mi 243 km2 man-made
56 Lake Winnibigoshish Minnesota 91 sq mi 236 km2 natural
56 Lake Barkley Kentucky–Tennessee 91 sq mi 236 km2 man-made
58 Lake Sharpe South Dakota 89 sq mi 231 km2 man-made
59 American Falls Reservoir Idaho 88 sq mi 228 km2 man-made
60 Lake Hartwell Georgia–South Carolina 87 sq mi 225 km2 man-made
60 Truman Reservoir Missouri 87 sq mi 225 km2 man-made
62 Lake of the Ozarks Missouri 86 sq mi 223 km2 man-made
63 Oneida Lake New York 80 sq mi 207 km2 natural
64 Lake Cumberland Kentucky 79 sq mi 205 km2 man-made
65 Kerr Lake North Carolina–Virginia 78 sq mi 202 km2 man-made
66 Calcasieu Lake Louisiana 77 sq mi 199 km2 natural
67 Lake Murray South Carolina 75 sq mi 194 km2 man-made
68 Grand Lake o' the Cherokees Oklahoma 73 sq mi 189 km2 man-made
68 Lake Koocanusa British Columbia–Montana 73 sq mi 189 km2 man-made
70 Lake George Florida 72 sq mi 186 km2 natural brackish
71 Lake Winnipesaukee New Hampshire 71 sq mi 184 km2 natural
71 Bull Shoals Lake Arkansas–Missouri 71 sq mi 184 km2 man-made
71 Walter F. George Lake Alabama–Georgia 71 sq mi 184 km2 man-made
74 Lake Martin Alabama 69 sq mi 179 km2 man-made
75 Clear Lake California 68 sq mi 176 km2 natural
75 Robert S. Kerr Lake Oklahoma 68 sq mi 176 km2 man-made
75 Seneca Lake New York 68 sq mi 176 km2 natural
78 Pickwick Lake Alabama–Mississippi–Tennessee 67 sq mi 174 km2 man-made
78 Table Rock Lake Arkansas–Missouri 67 sq mi 174 km2 man-made
78 Cayuga Lake New York 67 sq mi 174 km2 natural
81 Flaming Gorge Reservoir Utah–Wyoming 66 sq mi 171 km2 man-made
82 Richland-Chambers Reservoir Texas 64 sq mi 166 km2 man-made
83 Lake Vermilion Minnesota 63 sq mi 163 km2 natural
83 Lake Ouachita Arkansas 63 sq mi 163 km2 man-made
83 Lake Mattamuskeet North Carolina 63 sq mi 163 km2 natural
86 Watts Bar Lake Tennessee 61 sq mi 158 km2 man-made
86 Lake Wallula Oregon–Washington 61 sq mi 158 km2 man-made
88 Lake Lanier Georgia 59 sq mi 153 km2 man-made
89 Lake Tawakoni Texas 57 sq mi 148 km2 man-made
89 Elephant Butte Lake New Mexico 57 sq mi 148 km2 man-made
89 Chickamauga Lake Tennessee 57 sq mi 148 km2 man-made
92 Grenada Lake Mississippi 55 sq mi 142 km2 man-made
92 Lake Kissimmee Florida 55 sq mi 142 km2 natural
94 Lake Dardanelle Arkansas 54 sq mi 140 km2 man-made
95 Norris Lake Tennessee 53 sq mi 137 km2 man-made
95 Canyon Ferry Lake Montana 53 sq mi 137 km2 man-made
97 Lake Chelan Washington 52 sq mi 135 km2 natural
98 Cedar Creek Lake Texas 51 sq mi 132 km2 man-made
98 Lake Norman North Carolina 51 sq mi 132 km2 man-made
98 Sardis Lake Mississippi 51 sq mi 132 km2 man-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. ^ a b c 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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