11 Largest Manmade Lakes in the World

The 11 largest manmade lakes in the world are created for various purposes. Unlike the ancient artificial lakes that were built solely for the purpose of irrigation, modern dams also provide electricity, flood control, water supply and recreation.

Although manmade lakes existed as far back as 3000 BC, it wasn’t until the invention of an electric generator that could be powered by hydropower that they began springing all over the world. The first hydropower plant was built in 1882 on Fox River. Vulcan Street Plant, as it was called, had installed capacity of 12.5 kW. For comparison sake, the most powerful hydropower plant today, China’s Three Gorge Dam on Yangtze River, has a capacity of 22,000 MW.

While hydropower plants have many advantages over other sources of energy, other benefits of manmade lakes can’t be ignored. Just like the biggest freshwater lakes in the world, artificial lakes have provided the nearby communities with a source of water which can be filled during the rain season and used during a drought. California could sure use few of those right about now.

These 11 manmade lakes are largest in the world by the combined volume and surface area ranking. Besides lakes’ area and capacity, a number in parenthesis reveals their rank in each category. Canada and Russia top the list, with three lakes each, while Egypt, Venezuela, Ghana, and Kazakhstan have one each. Zimbabwe and Zambia share Kariba Lake, jointly operating Kariba Dam.

11. Zeya Reservoir

Volume: 68.4 km³ (9^th)

Surface Area: 2,420 km2 – 934 sq mi (20^th)

Zeya Reservoir was created in 1975, by damming Zeya River in Russia’s Amur Oblast.

10. Smallwood Reservoir

Volume: 32.64km³ (36^th)

Surface Area: 6,527 km2 – 2,520 sq mi (2^nd)

The Smallwood Reservoir, unlike most manmade lakes in the world, isn’t created by a dam, but rather by 88 dikes spanning 64 kilometers in total length. It’s second manmade reservoir in the world by surface area, but only 36^th by water volume.

9. Caniapiscau Reservoir

Volume: 53.8 km³ (18^th)

Surface Area: 4,318 km2 – 1,667 sq mi (9^th)

Created in 1981, Caniapiscau Reservoir flooded the original Caniapiscau Lake when two dams and 43 dikes were erected as a part of a much larger James Bay Project.

8. Bukhtarma Reservoir

Volume: 53km³ (20^th)

Surface Area: 5,490 km2 – 2,120 sq mi (5^th)

Formed by the construction of The Bukhtarma Hydroelectric Power Plant on Irtysh River in the 1960s,  Bukhtarma Reservoir is the largest manmade lake in Kazakhstan.

7. Robert-Bourassa Reservoir

Volume: 61.7 km³ (10^th)

Surface Area: 2,835 km2 – 1,095 sq mi (15^th)

Located in Northern Quebec, Robert-Bourassa Reservoir is a part of James Bay Project, a huge undertaking of damming and diverting rivers in Quebec resulting in more than 16,000 MW of installed capacity. Robert-Bourassa Reservoir was created in the 1970s.

6. Kuybyshev Reservoir

Volume: 57.3 km³ (15^th)

Surface Area: 6,450 km2 – 2,490 sq mi (3^rd)

Kuybyshev Reservoir is often called Samara Reservoir due to its location in Samara district. It is Europe’s largest manmade lake and third in the world by water volume it holds. It was created I 1957 by damming the Volga.

5. Lake Guri

Volume: 135 km³ (5^th)

Surface Area: 4,250 km2 – 1,641 sq mi (10^th)

The only South American representative on our list, Lake Guri is located in Venezuela. It was created in 1978 when the Gury Dam was finished on Caroni River. The Guri Dam provides more than one-third of all Venezuela’s electricity production.

4. Lake Nasser

Volume: 132 km³ (6^th)

Surface Area: 5,250 km2 – 2,030 sq mi (7^th)

Created by damming the Nile, Nasser Lake (or Lake Nubia, as it is called in Sudan, where the smaller portion of the lake is located) is 4^th on our list of the largest manmade lakes in the world.

3. Bratsk Reservoir

Volume: 169.27 km³ (2^nd)

Surface Area: 5,470 km2 – 2,110 sq mi (6^th)

Created in 1967, Bratsk Reservoir is the largest manmade reservoir in Asia. It is located on Amur River, in Russia’s Irkutsk district.

2. Lake Kariba

Volume: 180 km³ (1^st)

Surface Area: 5,580 km2 – 2,150 sq mi (4^th)

Lake Kariba is the largest manmade lake in the world by volume. It can hold up to 180 cubic kilometers of water. Located on the Zambezi River, in both Zimbabwe and Zambia, it was created by flooding the Kariba Gorge by the construction of Kariba Dam in the 1950s.

1. Lake Volta

Volume: 148 km³ (3^rd)

Surface Area: 8,502 km2 – 3,283 sq mi (1^st)

The combined volume and surface area ranking make Lake Volta the largest manmade lake in the world. Created by damming the Volta River by the Akosombo Dam, it is a very significant asset to Ghana’s economy, both in terms of electricity production and huge fisheries that operate on lake’s shores.