IASNOVA Interactive Atlas · Geography Through Maps
THE NORTH AMERICAN LAKES ATLAS
30 major lakes & reservoirs — hover or tap a marker to explore.
Selected major water bodies · International boundaries shown for orientation · lake and reservoir extents are approximate and may vary with water level
Lakes of North America: What the Map Reveals
North America’s lakes reveal the legacy of continental ice sheets, volcanic eruptions, tectonic basins and major river engineering. The five Great Lakes form the world’s largest connected system of fresh surface water, while Canada’s Shield and Arctic regions contain a second belt of enormous glacial lakes from Great Bear to Winnipeg.
The west contains deep fault-bounded and volcanic lakes such as Tahoe and Crater, plus the terminal Great Salt Lake. Mexico and Central America add tectonic and caldera lakes, led by Nicaragua and Chapala. Major reservoirs such as Mead, Powell and Smallwood show how dams and dikes transformed river basins for hydropower and water storage.
Complete Reference: All 30 Water Bodies
Open any entry for its countries, classification, dimensions, drainage and defining geographic fact.
Great Lakes & St. Lawrence
Lake Superior Canada · United States
Type: Natural freshwater · glacial Great Lake
Size / depth: About 82,100 km²; maximum depth about 406 m
Drainage / basin: St. Marys River → Lake Huron → St. Lawrence system
Why it matters: North America’s largest lake by surface area and the world’s largest freshwater lake by surface area. Its cold, deep basin holds more water than the other four Great Lakes combined.
Lake Michigan United States
Type: Natural freshwater · glacial Great Lake
Size / depth: About 57,750 km²; maximum depth about 282 m
Drainage / basin: Straits of Mackinac connect it with Lake Huron
Why it matters: The only Great Lake entirely within the United States. Michigan and Huron share the same surface elevation and are hydrologically one lake, separated geographically by the Straits of Mackinac.
Lake Huron Canada · United States
Type: Natural freshwater · glacial Great Lake
Size / depth: About 59,600 km²; maximum depth about 229 m
Drainage / basin: St. Marys and Mackinac inflows; St. Clair River → Lake Erie
Why it matters: Huron has the longest shoreline of the Great Lakes when its many islands are counted. Manitoulin Island is the world’s largest island in a freshwater lake.
Lake Erie Canada · United States
Type: Natural freshwater · shallow glacial Great Lake
Size / depth: About 25,700 km²; maximum depth about 64 m
Drainage / basin: Detroit River in; Niagara River → Lake Ontario
Why it matters: The shallowest and warmest Great Lake, Erie responds quickly to storms and nutrient pollution. Most of its outflow descends the Niagara River and Niagara Falls.
Lake Ontario Canada · United States
Type: Natural freshwater · glacial Great Lake
Size / depth: About 19,000 km²; maximum depth about 244 m
Drainage / basin: Niagara River in; St. Lawrence River out
Why it matters: The smallest Great Lake by surface area and the lowest in elevation. Its water begins the St. Lawrence River journey to the Atlantic Ocean.
Lake Champlain United States · Canada
Type: Natural freshwater · glacial valley lake
Size / depth: About 1,269 km²; maximum depth about 122 m
Drainage / basin: Richelieu River → St. Lawrence River
Why it matters: A long north–south lake between the Adirondacks and Green Mountains, central to Indigenous travel, colonial history and modern cross-border water management.
Canadian Shield & Arctic
Great Bear Lake Canada
Type: Natural freshwater · glacial and tectonic lake
Size / depth: About 31,200 km²; maximum depth about 446 m
Drainage / basin: Great Bear River → Mackenzie River → Arctic Ocean
Why it matters: The largest lake entirely within Canada and the largest lake crossed by the Arctic Circle. Its five great arms create an unusually complex shoreline.
Great Slave Lake Canada
Type: Natural freshwater · deep glacial lake
Size / depth: About 28,600 km²; maximum depth about 614 m
Drainage / basin: Slave River in; Mackenzie River out to the Arctic Ocean
Why it matters: North America’s deepest lake. Yellowknife stands on its northern shore, while the exceptionally deep East Arm is protected within the Thaidene Nëné landscape.
Lake Winnipeg Canada
Type: Natural freshwater · shallow postglacial lake
Size / depth: About 24,500 km²; maximum depth roughly 36 m
Drainage / basin: Saskatchewan, Red and Winnipeg rivers; Nelson River → Hudson Bay
Why it matters: A remnant of glacial Lake Agassiz and one of the world’s largest shallow lakes, Winnipeg drains an enormous agricultural and urban basin.
Lake Athabasca Canada
Type: Natural freshwater · glacial lake
Size / depth: About 7,850 km²; maximum depth about 124 m
Drainage / basin: Athabasca and Peace–Athabasca delta; Slave River → Great Slave Lake
Why it matters: Shared by Alberta and Saskatchewan, the lake borders one of the world’s largest inland freshwater deltas and extensive dune fields.
Reindeer Lake Canada
Type: Natural freshwater · Canadian Shield lake
Size / depth: About 6,650–6,800 km²; maximum depth about 220 m
Drainage / basin: Reindeer River → Churchill River → Hudson Bay
Why it matters: A deeply indented Shield lake with thousands of islands. Circular Deep Bay marks an ancient meteorite-impact structure.
Nettilling Lake Canada
Type: Natural freshwater · Arctic tundra lake
Size / depth: About 5,540–5,800 km²
Drainage / basin: Koukdjuak River → Foxe Basin
Why it matters: The largest lake on an island anywhere in the world, occupying a broad lowland on Baffin Island and frozen for most of the year.
Lake Manitoba Canada
Type: Natural freshwater · shallow postglacial lake
Size / depth: About 4,620 km²; maximum depth around 7 m
Drainage / basin: Waterhen River in; Fairford River → Lake Winnipeg
Why it matters: A very shallow remnant of glacial Lake Agassiz whose water levels and shoreline wetlands are sensitive to wind, inflow and regulation.
Lake Winnipegosis Canada
Type: Natural freshwater · shallow postglacial lake
Size / depth: About 5,370–5,400 km²; maximum depth around 12 m
Drainage / basin: Waterhen River → Lake Manitoba → Lake Winnipeg
Why it matters: Northwest of Lake Manitoba, Winnipegosis forms part of a linked prairie-lake system that ultimately drains to Hudson Bay.
Lake of the Woods Canada · United States
Type: Natural freshwater · glacial lake
Size / depth: About 4,350 km²; more than 14,000 islands
Drainage / basin: Rainy River in; Winnipeg River → Lake Winnipeg
Why it matters: A maze of islands and bays shared by Ontario, Manitoba and Minnesota. Its boundary geometry creates the isolated Northwest Angle of the United States.
Western & U.S. landmarks
Great Salt Lake United States
Type: Natural hypersaline · terminal basin lake
Size / depth: Highly variable; historically about 2,500–6,000 km² in modern records
Drainage / basin: Bear, Weber and Jordan rivers; no outlet to the sea
Why it matters: One of the Western Hemisphere’s largest saline lakes. Diversions, drought and warming have driven major declines, exposing lakebed dust and threatening brine-shrimp and bird habitat.
Lake Tahoe United States
Type: Natural freshwater · fault-bounded mountain lake
Size / depth: About 496 km²; maximum depth about 501 m
Drainage / basin: Truckee River → Pyramid Lake terminal basin
Why it matters: A remarkably deep and clear Sierra Nevada lake shared by California and Nevada. It ranks among North America’s deepest lakes and stores an immense volume for its surface area.
Crater Lake United States
Type: Natural freshwater · volcanic caldera lake
Size / depth: About 53 km²; maximum depth about 592–594 m
Drainage / basin: Closed caldera; supplied by rain and snow with no surface outlet
Why it matters: The deepest lake in the United States and the deepest volcanic lake in the world, occupying the caldera left by the collapse of Mount Mazama about 7,700 years ago.
Yellowstone Lake United States
Type: Natural freshwater · high volcanic-plateau lake
Size / depth: About 342–352 km²; elevation about 2,357 m
Drainage / basin: Yellowstone River → Missouri → Mississippi
Why it matters: North America’s largest lake above 7,000 feet elevation. Much of its basin lies within the Yellowstone caldera and contains active hydrothermal features.
Iliamna Lake United States · Alaska
Type: Natural freshwater · glacial and tectonic lake
Size / depth: About 2,620 km²; maximum depth about 300 m
Drainage / basin: Kvichak River → Bristol Bay
Why it matters: Alaska’s largest lake supports major sockeye-salmon runs and one of the world’s few freshwater populations of harbour seals.
Lake Okeechobee United States
Type: Natural freshwater · very shallow subtropical lake
Size / depth: About 1,900 km²; average depth only around 3 m
Drainage / basin: Kissimmee River in; managed canals and historic flow toward the Everglades
Why it matters: Florida’s largest lake and the liquid heart of the greater Everglades system, now surrounded by levees and managed for flood control, water supply and ecology.
Mexico & Central America
Lake Nicaragua / Cocibolca Nicaragua
Type: Natural freshwater · tectonic lake
Size / depth: About 8,260 km²; maximum depth roughly 26 m
Drainage / basin: Tipitapa River from Lake Managua; San Juan River → Caribbean Sea
Why it matters: The largest lake in Central America. Its connection to the Caribbean allowed marine ancestors of sawfish and bull sharks to enter the freshwater system.
Lake Managua / Xolotlán Nicaragua
Type: Natural freshwater · volcanic-tectonic lake
Size / depth: About 1,040 km²; maximum depth around 20 m
Drainage / basin: Intermittent Tipitapa River outlet to Lake Nicaragua
Why it matters: Volcanoes frame this shallow lake beside Nicaragua’s capital. Industrial and urban pollution caused severe degradation, though restoration efforts continue.
Lake Chapala Mexico
Type: Natural freshwater · shallow tectonic lake
Size / depth: Up to roughly 1,100 km²; area varies with level
Drainage / basin: Lerma River in; Santiago River out toward the Pacific
Why it matters: Mexico’s largest natural inland lake and a major water source for metropolitan Guadalajara, with levels shaped by drought, evaporation and upstream use.
Lake Cuitzeo Mexico
Type: Natural freshwater-to-brackish · shallow terminal lake
Size / depth: Roughly 300–400 km² but highly variable
Drainage / basin: Closed basin receiving the Grande de Morelia and Queréndaro rivers
Why it matters: Mexico’s second-largest natural lake by area in wetter periods, Cuitzeo can fragment into shallow pools and exposed salt-rich flats during drought.
Lake Atitlán Guatemala
Type: Natural freshwater · volcanic caldera lake
Size / depth: About 130 km²; maximum depth about 340 m
Drainage / basin: Endorheic surface basin with mainly subterranean losses
Why it matters: A spectacular deep caldera lake ringed by volcanoes and Maya communities. Nutrient pollution and harmful algal blooms are important management concerns.
Lake Izabal Guatemala
Type: Natural freshwater · lowland tectonic lake
Size / depth: About 590 km²; maximum depth roughly 18 m
Drainage / basin: Polochic River in; Río Dulce → Caribbean Sea
Why it matters: Guatemala’s largest lake drains through the scenic Río Dulce and supports wetlands, fisheries and habitat for the endangered Antillean manatee.
Major reservoirs
Lake Mead United States
Type: Hydroelectric and water-supply reservoir · Colorado River
Size / depth: Up to about 640 km² at full pool; present area varies greatly
Drainage / basin: Impounded by Hoover Dam
Why it matters: The largest reservoir in the United States by storage capacity when full. Long-term drought and water demand have produced conspicuous bathtub rings and low levels.
Lake Powell United States
Type: Hydroelectric and water-storage reservoir · Colorado River
Size / depth: Up to about 650 km² at full pool; highly level-dependent
Drainage / basin: Impounded by Glen Canyon Dam
Why it matters: A long canyon reservoir upstream of Lake Mead, storing water for the Colorado River Basin while experiencing major level declines during prolonged drought.
Smallwood Reservoir Canada
Type: Hydroelectric reservoir · Labrador Plateau
Size / depth: About 6,500–6,700 km²
Drainage / basin: Churchill River system; created for the Churchill Falls project
Why it matters: One of North America’s largest artificial lakes, formed by a network of dikes rather than one continuous dam across the broad Labrador Plateau.
Test Yourself: North America Lakes Map Quiz
Q1. Which is North America’s largest lake by surface area?
Lake Superior covers about 82,100 square kilometres, making it North America’s largest lake and the world’s largest freshwater lake by area.
Q2. Which Great Lake lies entirely within the United States?
Lake Michigan is the only Great Lake entirely within one country; the other four are shared by Canada and the United States.
Q3. Which is the deepest lake in North America?
Great Slave Lake reaches about 614 metres, deeper than Crater Lake and Lake Tahoe.
Q4. Which is the deepest lake in the United States?
Crater Lake reaches about 592 to 594 metres and is the deepest lake in the United States.
Q5. Which is North America’s largest lake above 7,000 feet elevation?
Yellowstone Lake lies about 2,357 metres above sea level and is the continent’s largest lake above 7,000 feet.
Q6. Which is the largest lake in Central America?
Lake Nicaragua, or Cocibolca, covers about 8,260 square kilometres.
Q7. Hoover Dam created which reservoir?
Hoover Dam impounds the Colorado River to form Lake Mead.
Q8. Which large artificial lake was created for the Churchill Falls hydroelectric project?
Smallwood Reservoir was formed across the Labrador Plateau by a network of dikes for the Churchill Falls project.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the largest lake in North America?
Lake Superior is North America’s largest lake by surface area, covering approximately 82,100 square kilometres across Canada and the United States.
What is the deepest lake in North America?
Great Slave Lake in Canada reaches about 614 metres and is the deepest lake in North America. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States.
How are the five Great Lakes connected?
Water generally moves from Superior through the St. Marys River to Huron, then through the St. Clair–Detroit system to Erie, over the Niagara River to Ontario, and finally through the St. Lawrence River to the Atlantic. Michigan connects directly with Huron through the Straits of Mackinac.
Are Lakes Michigan and Huron really one lake?
Hydrologically, yes. They share the same water level and are connected by the broad Straits of Mackinac, so scientists sometimes call the combined water body Lake Michigan–Huron. Geography and history preserve the two traditional names.
Why is Great Salt Lake shrinking?
River diversion, consumptive water use, drought and higher temperatures have reduced inflow and increased water loss. Because the lake is shallow, small elevation changes expose large areas of lakebed.
What is the largest lake in Central America?
Lake Nicaragua, also called Cocibolca, is Central America’s largest lake at about 8,260 square kilometres. It drains to the Caribbean through the San Juan River.
What is the largest natural lake in Mexico?
Lake Chapala is Mexico’s largest natural inland lake. It receives the Lerma River and supplies a substantial share of the water used by metropolitan Guadalajara.
Which mapped water bodies are reservoirs?
Lake Mead and Lake Powell are Colorado River reservoirs in the United States. Smallwood Reservoir in Canada was created for the Churchill Falls hydroelectric project.
Authoritative Sources
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — Physical Features of the Great Lakes
- Environment and Climate Change Canada — Water Sources: Lakes
- NASA Earth Observatory — The Great Shrinking Lake
- U.S. National Park Service — Crater Lake
- U.S. National Park Service — Yellowstone Lake
- U.S. Geological Survey — Lake Tahoe Study
- CONAGUA — Atlas del Agua en México
- U.S. Bureau of Reclamation — Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell
- UNESCO World Heritage Centre — Guatemala and Lake Atitlán
Data note: Areas and depths are rounded from commonly cited values. Shallow terminal lakes and regulated reservoirs can change dramatically with rainfall, drought, river diversion and operating level. Transboundary lakes may also have several accepted names.
