Largest lakes & reservoirs in US Midwest Region 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 516 articles we have published for US Midwest Region lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Midwest Region > Compared by water volume. 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 | Water vol. in ac-ft | Lake description |
---|---|---|
Leech Lake, MN (Minnesota, Northwest Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
621,640 ac-ft | 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 … |
Mullett Lake, MI (Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
613,777 ac-ft | Mullett Lake is Michigan’s fifth largest lake, covering 17,360 acres with 28 shoreline miles. Sitting at the center of Michigan’s Inland Waterway, Mul … |
Mark Twain Lake, MO (Missouri, Northeast Missouri, US Midwest Region, USA) |
543,994 ac-ft | Mark Twain Lake spreads out over 18,600 acres in Ralls and Monroe Counties of northeastern Missouri. The lake and the 2,775-acre Mark Twain State Park … |
Otter Tail Lake, MN (Central Minnesota, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
506,000 ac-ft | With over 13,000 acres of water and 22 miles of shoreline, Otter Tail Lake is the largest lake in Otter Tail County and is located in the Central tour … |
Lake Petenwell, WI (Central Sands Prairie Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
495,000 ac-ft | Thirty miles north of the famous Wisconsin Dells near Monroe Center, Lake Petenwell is a hidden treasure. The largest manmade inland lake in the state … |
Higgins Lake, MI (Michigan, Northeast Michigan, US Midwest Region, USA) |
459,000 ac-ft | With depths that average 52 feet and range as deep as 141 feet, the azure waters of Higgins Lake assure a remarkable transparency. Such crystalline wa … |
Lake Pepin, MN/WI (Minnesota, Mississippi-Chippewa Rivers Region, WI, Southern Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
450,000 ac-ft | Lake Pepin is the largest lake on the Mississippi River, formed about 9,500 years ago by the backup of water behind sediments where the Chippewa River … |
Clearwater Lake MO (Missouri, Southeast Missouri, US Midwest Region, USA) |
413,000 ac-ft | Shining in the middle of the Ozarks in southeastern Missouri, Clearwater Lake offers visitors more than 1,600 acres of water for boating, skiing, swim … |
Kaw Lake, KS/OK (Kansas, Oklahoma, Red Carpet Country, OK, South Central Kansas, US Midwest Region, US Southwest Region, USA) |
406,540 ac-ft | (Also known as Kaw Reservoir) Kaw Lake is a large lake covering an area of 17,000 acres. Its three fingerlike “arms” lie in two midwestern states, Oklahoma and Kansas. Kaw Lake is … |
Lake Minnetonka, MN (Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Region, MN, Minnesota, US Midwest Region, USA) |
400,000 ac-ft | Lake Minnetonka’s 14,000 acres contain many bays and coves, resembling a collection of smaller lakes. “Minnetonka” comes from the Sioux language meani … |
Lake Mendota, WI (Southern Savanna Region, WI, US Midwest Region, USA, Wisconsin) |
389,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Yahara Chain of Lakes) Sometimes called the “City of 4 Lakes,” Madison in Dane County is the capital of Wisconsin and its second largest city. Its “Lake, City, Lake” tradema … |
Lewis and Clark Lake, NE/SD (Lewis and Clark Region, NE, Nebraska, South Dakota, Southeast Region, SD, US Midwest Region, USA) |
388,000 ac-ft | Stretching 25 miles long and straddling the Nebraska and South Dakota border, 28,000-acre Lewis and Clark Lake is the smallest of the Missouri River r … |