List of reservoirs by surface area

Below are the reservoirs (artificial lakes) in the world with a surface area exceeding 500 km2 (190 sq mi). Reservoirs can be formed conventionally, by damming the outlet of a canyon or valley to form a lake; the largest of this type is Ghana's Lake Volta, with a water surface of 8,500 km2 (3,300 sq mi). Reservoirs can also be formed by damming the outlets of natural lakes to regulate water levels, such as ones at Uganda's Owen Falls Dam (Lake Victoria) and Russia's Irkutsk Dam (Lake Baikal); they are included here and indicated with a light blue cell background.

Large reservoir area does not necessarily coincide with large volume, as reservoirs with a large area tend to be shallow, such as at Suriname's 1,560 km2 (600 sq mi) Brokopondo Reservoir, with an average depth of just 13 m (43 ft). In comparison, Canada's Kinbasket Lake, with an average depth of 58 m (190 ft), has a volume 25 percent greater – but with a surface area of just 430 km2 (170 sq mi), does not meet the cutoff for inclusion in this list.

List

Name Country Dam Outflow Surface area Ref Image
km2 mi2
Lake Victoria[n 1]  Kenya
 Tanzania
 Uganda 		Owen Falls Dam White Nile 66,400 25,600 [1]
Irkutsk Reservoir–
Lake Baikal[n 2] 		 Russia Irkutsk Dam Angara River 32,000 12,000 [2]
Lake Winnipeg[n 3]  Canada Jenpeg Dam Nelson River 24,420 9,430 [3]
Lake Volta  Ghana Akosombo Dam Volta River 8,500 3,300 [4]
Smallwood Reservoir  Canada Multiple Churchill River 6,527 2,520 [5]
Reindeer Lake[n 4]  Canada Whitesand Dam Reindeer River 6,500 2,500 [6]
Kuybyshev Reservoir  Russia Zhiguli Dam Volga River 6,450 2,490
Lake Kariba  Zambia
 Zimbabwe 		Kariba Dam Zambezi River 5,580 2,150 [7]
Bukhtarma Reservoir[n 5]  Kazakhstan Bukhtarma Dam Irtysh River 5,490 2,120 [8]
Bratsk Reservoir  Russia Bratsk Dam Angara River 5,470 2,110 [9]
Lake Nasser  Egypt Aswan Dam Nile 5,200 2,000 [10]
Rybinsk Reservoir  Russia Rybinsk Dam Volga River 4,550 1,760 [11]
Caniapiscau Reservoir  Canada Multiple Caniapiscau River 4,318 1,667 [12]
Lake Guri  Venezuela Guri Dam Caroni River 4,250 1,640
Sobradinho Reservoir  Brazil Sobradinho Dam São Francisco River 4,225 1,631 [13]
Volgograd Reservoir  Russia Volga Dam Volga River 3,117 1,203
Lago Tucuruí  Brazil Tucuruí Dam Tocantins River 2,875 1,110 [14]
Robert-Bourassa Reservoir  Canada Robert-Bourassa Dam La Grande River 2,815 1,087 [12]
Tsimlyansk Reservoir  Russia Tsimlyansky Dam Don River 2,702 1,043 [15]
Cahora Bassa Lake  Mozambique Cahora Bassa Dam Zambezi River 2,665 1,029 [16]
La Grande-3 Reservoir  Canada La Grande-3 Dam La Grande River 2,536 979 [12]
Vilyuy Reservoir  Russia Vilyuy Dam Vilyuy River 2,501 966
Kaptai lake  Bangladesh Kaptai Dam Karnaphuli River 2,399 926 [17]
Balbina Reservoir  Brazil Balbina Dam Uatumã River 2,360 910 [14]
Sanmenxia Reservoir  China Sanmenxia Dam Yellow River 2,350 910
Boguchany Reservoir  Russia Boguchany Dam Angara River 2,326 898
Sérgio Motta Reservoir  Brazil Eng Sérgio Motta Dam Paraná River 2,250 870
Ust-Khantai Reservoir  Russia Ust-Khantai Dam Khantayka River 2,230 860
Cheboksary Reservoir  Russia Cheboksary Dam Volga River 2,190 850
Kremenchuk Reservoir  Ukraine Kremenchuk Dam Dnieper River 2,250 870
Lake Argyle  Australia Ord River Dam Ord River 2,072 800 [18]
Krasnoyarsk Reservoir  Russia Krasnoyarsk Dam Yenisei River 2,000 770 [19]
Manicouagan Reservoir  Canada Daniel-Johnson Dam Manicouagan River 1,973 762 [12]
Ust-Ilimsk Reservoir  Russia Ust-Ilimsk Dam Angara River 1,922 742
Kama Reservoir  Russia Kama Dam Kama River 1,915 739
Kapchagay Reservoir  Kazakhstan Kapchagay Dam Ili River 1,847 713
Saratov Reservoir  Russia Balakovo Dam Volga River 1,831 707
Williston Lake  Canada W.A.C. Bennett Dam Peace River 1,773 685 [20]
Yacyretá Reservoir  Argentina
 Paraguay 		Yacyretá Dam Paraná River 1,600 620 [21]
Lake Sakakawea  United States Garrison Dam Missouri River 1,539 594 [22]
Lake Oahe  United States Oahe Dam Missouri River 1,515 585 [22]
Brokopondo Reservoir  Suriname Afobaka Dam Suriname River 1,500 580 [23]
Furnas Reservoir  Brazil Furnas Dam Grande River 1,473 569 [24]
Itaipu Reservoir  Brazil
 Paraguay 		Itaipu Dam Paraná River 1,350 520 [25]
Laforge-1 Reservoir  Canada Laforge-1 Dam Laforge River 1,288 497 [26]
Nechako Reservoir  Canada Kenney Dam Nechako River 1,200 460 [27]
Stiegler's Gorge Reservoir  Tanzania Stiegler's Gorge Dam Rufiji River 1,200 460
Ilha Solteira Reservoir  Brazil Ilha Solteira Dam Paraná River 1,195 461 [28]
Votkinsk Reservoir  Russia Votkinsk Dam Kama River 1,120 430
Nizhnekamsk Reservoir  Russia Nizhnekamsk Dam Kama River 1,084 419
Three Gorges Reservoir  China Three Gorges Dam Yangtze River 1,084 419 [29]
Novosibirsk Reservoir  Russia Novosibirsk Dam Ob River 1,072 414 [30]
Jebel Aulia Reservoir  Sudan Jebel Aulia Dam White Nile 1,051 406 [31]
Danjiangkou Reservoir  China Danjiangkou Dam Han River 1,050 410 [32]
Três Marias Reservoir  Brazil Três Marias Dam São Francisco River 1,040 400 [33]
Pipmuacan Reservoir  Canada Bersimis-1 Dam Betsiamites River 978 378
Fort Peck Lake  United States Fort Peck Dam Missouri River 976 377 [22]
Kyiv Reservoir  Ukraine Kyiv Dam Dnieper River 922 356
Shardara Reservoir  Kazakhstan Shardara Dam Syr Darya 900 350 [34]
El Chocón Reservoir  Argentina El Chocón Dam Limay River 860 330
Truman Reservoir  United States Harry S. Truman Dam Osage River 848 327 [35]
Luiz Gonzaga Reservoir  Brazil Luiz Gonzaga Dam São Francisco River 828 320 [36]
Lake Atatürk Dam  Turkey Atatürk Dam Euphrates River 817 315
Srisailam Reservoir  India Srisailam Dam Krishna River 800 310
Itumbiara Reservoir  Brazil Itumbiara Dam Paranaíba River 778 300 [37]
La Grande-4 Reservoir  Canada La Grande-4 Dam La Grande River 765 295 [38]
Toledo Bend Reservoir  United States Toledo Bend Dam Sabine River 736 284 [27]
Hirakud Reservoir  India Hirakud Dam Mahanadi River 743 287 [39]
Emborcação Reservoir  Brazil Emborcação Dam Paranaíba River 703 271
Lake Powell  United States Glen Canyon Dam Colorado River 689 266 [40]
Kaniv Reservoir  Ukraine Kaniv Dam Dnieper River 675 261
Keban Reservoir  Turkey Keban Dam Euphrates 675 261
São Simão Reservoir  Brazil São Simão Dam Paranaíba River 674 260
Lake Mead  United States Hoover Dam Colorado River 659 254 [40]
Água Vermelha Reservoir  Brazil Água Vermelha Dam Grande River 650 250 [41]
Outardes-4 Reservoir  Canada Outardes-4 Dam Outardes River 625 241
Lake Assad  Syria Tabqa Dam Euphrates 610 240
Mingachevir Reservoir  Azerbaijan Mingachevir Dam Kura River 605 234
Eastmain Reservoir  Canada Multiple Eastmain River 603 233 [42]
Kamianske Reservoir  Ukraine Kamianske Dam Dnieper River 567 219
Kayrakkum Reservoir  Tajikistan Kayrakkum Dam Syr Darya 523 202 [43]
Capivara Reservoir  Brazil Capivara Dam Paranapanema River 515 199 [44]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Owen Falls Dam raised the level of Lake Victoria
  2. ^ Irkutsk Dam and Reservoir raised the level of Lake Baikal
  3. ^ Jenpeg Dam and a series of dikes and diversion channels are operated by Manitoba Hydro to maintain Lake Winnipeg as a storage reservoir for hydroelectricity generation.
  4. ^ Reindeer Lake raised slightly and outflow regulated by Whitesand Dam
  5. ^ Bukhtarma Dam raised the level of Lake Zaysan

References

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  36. ^ [1] [dead link‍]
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