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US states ordered by largest natural lake

List the States by the largest natural lake that lies within its borders
To be on this list, the lake must be natural. Large western lakes like Lake Powell, and Lake Sakakawea are not counted as they are artificial lakes.
The Area field is not the area of the lake, but rather the area of the lake within the borders of the state in cases where the lake is shared by multiple states. In some cases this was a rough estimate using Q. Those cases are marked with double asterisks
Some states completely lack natural lakes. These states are not included
areas marked with an asterisk are natural lakes that have been modified by dams. I have been unable to identify the original area of many of these lakes.
Quiz by Kearsarge
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Last updated: November 4, 2022
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First submittedNovember 2, 2022
Times taken14
Average score71.4%
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Name
Area
Answer
Lake Superior
16,000 sq mi
Michigan
Lake Michigan
7,358 sq mi
Wisconsin
Lake Erie
3,546 sq mi
Ohio
Lake Ontario
3,518 sq mi
New York
Great Salt Lake
2,117 sq mi
Utah
Lake Michigan
1,576 sq mi
Illinois
Lake Superior
1,504 sq mi
Minnesota
Iliamna Lake
1,014 sq mi
Alaska
Lake Erie
749 sq mi
Pennsylvania
Lake Okeechobee
662 sq mi
Florida
Lake Pontchartrain
631 sq mi
Louisiana
Lake Champlain
320 sq mi**
Vermont
Devils Lake
300 sq mi
North Dakota
Lake Michigan
234 sq mi
Indiana
Flathead Lake
192 sq mi
Montana
Pyramid Lake
183 sq mi
Nevada
Lake Pend Orielle
148 sq mi
Idaho
Yellowstone Lake
136 sq mi
Wyoming
Lake Tahoe
127 sq mi
California
Moosehead Lake
117 sq mi
Maine
Klamath Lake
96 sq mi
Oregon
Lake Winnepesaukee
71 sq mi
New Hampshire
Lake Chelan
52 sq mi*
Washington
Lake Mattamuskeet
47 sq mi
North Carolina
Sabine Lake
35 sq mi**
Texas
Name
Area
Answer
Lake Thompson
25.36 sq mi
South Dakota
Reelfoot Lake
23 sq mi
Tennessee
Mormon Lake
12 sq mi
Arizona
Big Spirit Lake
8 sq mi
Iowa
Lake Chicot
7.8 sq mi
Arkansas
Lake Drummond
5 sq mi
Virginia
Lake Washington
4.6 sq mi
Mississippi
Lake Hoptacong
4 sq mi*
New Jersey
Assawompsett Pond
4 sq mi
Massachusetts
Worden Pond
1.6 sq mi
Rhode Island
Burford/Stinking Lake
1.6 sq mi
New Mexico
Crescent Lake
1.5 sq mi
Nebraska
Bantam Lake
1.47 sq mi
Connecticut
Halulu Lake
1.31 sq mi
Hawaii
Grand Lake
.79 sq mi
Colorado
Lake Jackson
.63 sq mi
Alabama
Creve Couer Lake
.5 sq mi
Missouri
Swan Lake
.46 sq mi
Kentucky
Forty-one Cutoff Lake
.425 sq mi
Oklahoma
Lake Inman
.25 sq mi
Kansas
"Little Patuxent Oxbow Lake"
.078 sq mi
Maryland
Silver Lake
.04 sq mi
Delaware
Schultz Lake
.008 sq mi
South Carolina
Trout Pond
.0004 sq mi*
West Virginia
+1
Level 68
Nov 2, 2022
Some of these were easy to pull together. Some were not. After identifying Sabine Lake and Lake Champlain as the clear largest lakes in their states, I tried to figure out the percentage in each state. This was more or less impossible without GIS software. The guess for Champlain is fairly dubious, to say the least. I also had serious difficulty in finding the largest natural lake in Nebraska and South Carolina both. The lake for South Carolina comes from a Reddit post, far from the best source, but the only one I could find. The lake for Nebraska comes from an ancient wikipedia list of lakes in Nebraska, it is not clear if the value for Crescent Lake there is the added size of all the lakes in the Wildlife Management Area or one lake in particular. Crescent Lake does look like the largest lake in the sandhills, so if the value is wrong the only real competition would be an oxbow lake somewhere. There are a few karst natural ponds in extreme southern Georgia, I could not find any names
+1
Level 95
Nov 3, 2022
Really interesting quiz. But Minnesota appears twice and I think the second one (Flathead) should be Montana?
+1
Level 68
Nov 4, 2022
Fixed, Thanks.