Below you can find the list of top 10 largest lakes in the US. For a detailed coverage of this topic and a more comprehensive list, please see the 25 largest lakes in the US.
10. Lake Okeechobee
US States/Canadian Provinces/Mexican States: Florida
Area: 662 sq mi/1,715 km2
Type: natural
It’s also known as Florida’s Inland Sea, and actually it’s the largest freswater lake in Florida State, and the eighth biggest natural freshwater lake across North America. The lake primary source is the Kissimmee River, situated in the north of Lake Okeechobee.
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9. Lake Oahe
US States/Canadian Provinces/Mexican States: North-Dakota-South Dakota
Area: 685 sq mi/1,774 km2
Type: man-made
As a matter of fact, it’s a huge reservoir behind Oahe Dam on the Missouri River. It’s maximum depth is 205 ft/62 m. As for its volume it’s the fourth biggest reservoir in America. Its name derives from the Oahe Indian Mission in 1874.
Pixabay/Public domain
8. Iliamna Lake
US States/Canadian Provinces/Mexican States: Alaska
Area: 1,014 sq mi/2,626 km2
Type: natural
Up on our list of the top 10 largest lakes in US, Iliamna Lake stands on eighth spot. It’s the biggest lake in Alaska, and the eight-largest one in the United States with a maximum depth of 988 ft/301 m.
7. Lake of the Woods
US States/Canadian Provinces/Mexican States: Manitoba-Minnesota-Ontario
Area: 1,679 sq mi/4,349 km2
Type: natural
Lake of the Woods is fed by Shoal Lake, Kakagi Lake and Rainy River. Its more than 70 miles/110 km long and wide, and amazingly it includes over 14,552 islands! It’s the sixth biggest freshwater lake in the US, and it stands on the 36th spot by area across the globe.
6. Great Salt Lake
US States/Canadian Provinces/Mexican States: Utah
Area: 2,117 sq mi/5,483 km2
Type: natural
The Great Sale Lake is actually the largest salt lake in the Western Hemisphere. Despite it got the name “America’s Dead Sea” it gives wonderful habitat for hundreds of thousands of native birds and other animals, such as waterfowl, shorebirds and brine shrimp. If there’s only one thing you have time for in the United States, the Great Salt Lake should be that one!
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5. Lake Ontario
US States/Canadian Provinces/Mexican States: New York – Ontario
Area: 7,340 sq mi/19,011 km2
Type: natural
Lake Ontario is the first one among the Great Lakes in North America. Its name derives from Ontario, which Canada’s most populous province. The word “Ontarí’io” means “great lake” in the Huron language. The famous Niagara River is its primary inlet from Lake Eirie.
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4. Lake Eirie
US States/Canadian Provinces/Mexican States: Michigan-New York- Ohio-Ontario-Pennsylvania
Area: 9,910 sq mi/25,667 km2
Type: natural
Lake Eirie also belongs to the Great Lakes of North America, and it’s the eleventh biggest lake in the world respectively. Regarding to its volume it’s the smallest lake among the Great Lakes, and its deepest point is at 210 ft/64 m. Its name origins from Eirie people, who inhabited along its shore. Their tribal name was “eirie” which was an abbreviation of Iroquoian word “erielhonan” meaning long tail. According to other sources, the name derives from the word “eri” meaning “cherry tree”.
Pixabay / Public Domain
3. Lake Michigan
US States/Canadian Provinces/Mexican States: Illinois-Indiana-Michigan-Wisconsin
Area: 22,300 sq mi/57,757 km2
Type: natural
Lake Michigan is third-largest lake among the Great Lakes of North America by surface area, however it’s the second-largest one by volume 1,180 cu mi/4,900 km3. The word “Michigan’ is said to derive from the Ojibwe word “michi-gami” which means “great water”. As a matter of fact, twelve million people reside along the shores of the lake, mainly in the Chicago and Milwaukee M.S.A.
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2. Lake Huron
US States/Canadian Provinces/Mexican States: Michigan-Ohio
Area: 23,000 sq mi/59,570 km2
Type: natural
Lake Huron is among the five Great Lakes in North America. French explorers named the lake after Huron people living in that region. It’s the second biggest lake of the Great Lakes, and is the third-largest freshwater lake throughout the whole world. As of its volume, Lake Huron is the third biggest one among the Great Lakes, including 850 cubic miles (3,500 km3).
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1. Lake Superior
US States/Canadian Provinces/Mexican States: Michigan-Minnesota-Wisconsin-Ontario
Area: 31,700 sq mi/82,103 km2
Type: natural
Without a shadow of a doubt, Lake Superior tops the list of the 10 largest lakes in the US. Lake Superior is not only the largest one of the Great Lakes in North America, but actually it’s the biggest freshwater lake by surface area all over the world, and as for its volume it’s the third-largest lake across the globe, behind Lake Baikal in Siberia and Lake Tanganyika in East Africa.
John McCormick/Shutterstock.com
