Largest lakes & reservoirs in US Southwest 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 149 articles we have published for US Southwest Region lakes.
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Below are lakes within USA > US Southwest Region > Compared by water volume. This list does not represent all lakes in US Southwest Region, only the 149 US Southwest Region lake articles we have published on the LakeLubbers website.
Lake name | Water vol. in ac-ft | Lake description |
---|---|---|
Grand Lake O’the Cherokees, OK (Green Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
1,672,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Grand Lake Over the Cherokees) Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees stands out as a sapphire jewel tucked into the northeastern Oklahoma landscape. Created in 1940, the reservoir stretches f … |
Roosevelt Lake, AZ (Arizona, North Central Arizona, US Southwest Region, USA) |
1,653,043 ac-ft | (Also known as Theodore Roosevelt Lake, Lake Roosevelt) With 21,500 acres at full pond and 128 miles of shoreline, Roosevelt Lake is the largest body of water contained entirely within Arizona; the larger L … |
Richland Chambers Lake, TX (Prairies and Lakes Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
1,136,600 ac-ft | (Also known as Richland Chambers Reservoir) Richland Chambers Lake (also called Richland Chambers Reservoir) was created between 1982 to 1987, making it the youngest lake in Texas. The Texas leg … |
Lake Travis, TX (Hill Country Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
1,131,650 ac-ft | Lake Travis is a beautiful 18,930 acre reservoir in the Hill Country of central Texas, about 12 miles northwest of Austin. It is over 63 miles long wi … |
Navajo Lake NM (Colorado, New Mexico, Northwest New Mexico, NM, Southeast Colorado, US Southwest Region, US West Region, USA) |
1,036,100 ac-ft | (Also known as Navajo Reservoir) Navajo Lake offers a surprising and welcome expanse of water in northwestern New Mexico. The 15,600-acre reservoir stretches north into southwest Colo … |
Broken Bow Lake, OK (Kiamichi Country, OK, Oklahoma, US Southwest Region, USA) |
954,100 ac-ft | (Also known as Broken Bow Reservoir) Broken Bow Lake is nestled in the Ouachita Mountains of McCurtain County in southeastern Oklahoma. Covering more than 14,200 acres with 180 miles of s … |
Lake Tawakoni, TX (Prairies and Lakes Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
927,440 ac-ft | Built for function but known for fun, Lake Tawakoni, Texas was formed after construction of the Iron Bridge Dam. Van Zandt County, Rains County, and H … |
San Carlos Lake, AZ (Arizona, North Central Arizona, US Southwest Region, USA) |
900,000 ac-ft | San Carlos Lake is on the San Carlos Apache Native American Reservation in north-central Arizona. With 19,500 surface acres of water when full, San Ca … |
Lake Buchanan, TX (Hill Country Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
875,566 ac-ft | (Also known as "Big Buc") Lake Buchanan, the oldest and northernmost of the Highland Lakes, is known as “Big Buc” to the locals and anglers who regularly visit the area. It is … |
Lake Meredith, TX (Panhandle Plains Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
779,556 ac-ft | (Also known as Meredith Reservoir) Lake Meredith is an impressive 16,441-acre reservoir in the Texas Plains Region of the Texas Panhandle, about 30 miles northeast of Amarillo. Managed … |
Choke Canyon Lake, TX (South Texas Plains Region, TX, Texas, US Southwest Region, USA) |
695,000 ac-ft | (Also known as Choke Canyon Reservoir) Located 65 miles south of San Antonio, Choke Canyon Lake was impounded in 1982 to supply drinking water to Corpus Christi on the Gulf Coast of Texas. … |
Lake Pleasant, AZ (Arizona, North Central Arizona, US Southwest Region, USA) |
688,500 ac-ft | (Also known as New Lake Pleasant) One of the finest water recreation areas in Arizona, Lake Pleasant is true to its name – a pleasant oasis in a desert setting. Lake Pleasant’s 9,200 s … |