# List of lakes of Alberta

This is a list of lakes of Alberta, Canada.
Most of Alberta's lakes were formed during the last glaciation, about 12,000 years ago. There are many different types of lakes in Alberta, from glacial lakes in the Canadian Rockies to small shallow lakes in the prairies, brown water lakes in the northern boreal forest and muskeg, kettle holes and large lakes with sandy beaches and clear water in the central plains.
Distribution of the lakes throughout the province of Alberta is irregular, with many water bodies in the wet boreal plains in the north, and very few in the semi-arid Palliser's Triangle in the southeast.

## River basins

Most of Alberta's waters are drained in a general north or northeastern direction, with six major rivers forming four major watersheds collecting the water and removing it from the province:
* The Peace River and Athabasca River flow north and east, meeting in the massive Peace–Athabasca Delta, eventually feeding the Mackenzie River in south-central Northwest Territories and draining into the Arctic Ocean
* The North and South Saskatchewan Rivers flow east and form the Saskatchewan River in central Saskatchewan, flowing into Lake Winnipeg, which drains into Hudson Bay on the Arctic/North Atlantic oceans
** There is an endorheic area between the North and South Saskatchewan basins, the Sounding Creek system, where most of the water drains to Manitou Lake (not to be confused with the more famous Little Manitou Lake) and evaporates.
* The smaller Beaver River in east-central Alberta flows east into the Churchill River in north-central Saskatchewan and then drains into Hudson Bay
* The smaller Milk River in southeast Alberta flows south into the Missouri River in northeastern Montana, which joins the Mississippi River and drains into the Gulf of Mexico
As with other basins on the planet, the topographical highlights in the drainage divides between these basins can be difficult to discern. For example, there is little elevation change in the short 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) of land between Lac la Biche and Beaver Lake, yet the former is in a watershed that drains north into the Arctic Ocean, while the latter is in a watershed that drains east into Hudson Bay.

## Largest lakes

Lake Athabasca is the largest lake in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. This 7,850 km$^2$ (3,030 sq mi) lake has 2,295 km$^2$ (886 sq mi) of its surface area in Alberta and 5,555 km$^2$ (2,145 sq mi) in Saskatchewan.
The largest lake completely within Alberta is Lake Claire, at 1,436 km$^2$ (554 sq mi). Lake Claire is just west of Lake Athabasca, with both located in the remote Peace-Athabasca Delta.
This section provides a list of lakes of Alberta with an area larger than 100 km$^2$ (39 sq mi).
Alberta lakes larger than 100 km$^2$ (39 sq mi) :
| Lake | Area (including islands) | Elevation | Depth max. | Volume |
| Lake Athabasca | 7,850 km$^2$ (3,030 sq mi) | 213 m (699 ft) | 124 m (407 ft) | 204 km$^3$ (49 cu mi) |
| Lake Claire | 1,436 km$^2$ (554 sq mi) | 213 m (699 ft) | | |
| Lesser Slave Lake | 1,160 km$^2$ (450 sq mi) | 578 m (1,896 ft) | 20.5 m (67 ft) | 13.69 km$^3$ (3.28 cu mi) |
| Bistcho Lake | 426 km$^2$ (164 sq mi) | 552 m (1,811 ft) | 6.7 m (22 ft) | |
| Cold Lake | 373 km$^2$ (144 sq mi) | 535 m (1,755 ft) | 99.1 m (325 ft) | 18.6 km$^3$ (4.5 cu mi) |
| Utikuma Lake | 288 km$^2$ (111 sq mi) | 641 m (2,103 ft) | 5.5 m (18 ft) | |
| Lac la Biche | 234 km$^2$ (90 sq mi) | 544 m (1,785 ft) | 21.3 m (70 ft) | |
| Beaverhill Lake | 139 km$^2$ (54 sq mi) | 668 m (2,192 ft) | 2.3 m (7.5 ft) | |
| Calling Lake | 138 km$^2$ (53 sq mi) | 529 m (1,736 ft) | 18.3 m (60 ft) | |
| Pakowki Lake | 123 km$^2$ (47 sq mi) | 860 m (2,820 ft) | | |
| Winefred Lake | 123 km$^2$ (47 sq mi) | 594 m (1,949 ft) | 15.3 m (50 ft) | |

## List of lakes

This section provides a list of numerous lakes of Alberta, including the "large" ones shown in the previous section.
Note that the lakes are listed alphabetically by their main name, dropping any leading "lake", "lac", "lac la", "upper/lower", "north/south". For example, Lac la Nonne (the nun lake) is entered under "N". If desired, using the table sort function will give the list sorted by the leading word.
* A
* B
* C
* D
* E
* F
* G
* H
* I
* J
* K
* L
* M
* N
* O
* P
* Q
* R
* S
* T
* U
* V
* W
* X
* Y
* Z
| Lake | Watershed | Basin | Area (km$^2$) | Remarks |
| Abraham Lake | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 53.7 | man-made reservoir |
| Adolphus Lake | Smoky River | Arctic Ocean | 0.18 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Lake Agnes | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 0.52 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Amisk Lake | Beaver River | Hudson Bay | 5.3 | |
| Angle Lake | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | | |
| Lake Annette | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Lake Athabasca | Slave River | Arctic Ocean | 7,850 | two thirds in Saskatchewan |
| Baptiste Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 9.8 | |
| Barreyre Lake | • | • | • | • |
| Barrier Lake | Kananaskis River | Hudson Bay | 2.6 | man-made reservoir |
| Battle Lake | Battle River | Hudson Bay | 4.6 | |
| Baxter Lakes | • | • | • | • |
| Bearhills Lake | Battle River | Hudson Bay | | |
| Beauvais Lake | Oldman River | Hudson Bay | 0.9 | |
| Beauvert Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 0.4 | |
| Beaver Lake | Beaver River | Hudson Bay | 33.1 | |
| Beaverhill Lake | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 139 | Beaverhill Natural Area is part of Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. |
| Lac la Biche | Beaver River | Hudson Bay | 236 | |
| Big Lake | Sturgeon River | Hudson Bay | 21.4 | |
| Bistcho Lake | Petitot River | Arctic Ocean | 426 | |
| Bonnie Lake | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 3.77 | |
| Bourgeau Lake | | | | |
| Bow Lake | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 3.21 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Brander Lake | • | • | • | • |
| Brokenleg Lake | • | • | • | • |
| Buck Lake | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 25.4 | |
| Brûlé Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 14.5 | lake is formed along the Athabasca River |
| Buffalo Lake | Red Deer River | Hudson Bay | 93.5 | |
| Calling Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 134 | |
| Cardinal Lake | Peace River | Arctic Ocean | 50 | |
| Chester Lake | Spray River | Hudson Bay | 0.51 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Chestermere Lake | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 2.7 | man-made reservoir |
| Chip Lake | Lobstick River | Arctic Ocean | 73 | |
| Christina Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 21.3 | |
| Lake Claire | Peace River | Arctic Ocean | 1,436 | largest lake completely in Alberta |
| Coal Lake | Battle River | Hudson Bay | 10.9 | ribbon lake |
| Cold Lake | Beaver River | Hudson Bay | 373 | partly in Saskatchewan |
| Crawling Valley Reservoir | South Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 25.1 | man-made reservoir |
| Dowling Lake | • | • | • | • |
| Driedmeat Lake | Battle River | Hudson Bay | 16.5 | ribbon lake |
| Elbow Lake | Elbow River | Hudson Bay | 0.53 | |
| Elkwater Lake | South Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 2.31 | |
| Ethel Lake | Cold River | Hudson Bay | | |
| Ewing Lake | • | • | • | • |
| Formby Lake | • | • | • | • |
| Frank Lake | South Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 43.74 | |
| Gadsby Lake | • | • | • | • |
| Ghost Lake | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 11.6 | man-made reservoir |
| Glacier Lake | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 2.5 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Gleniffer Lake | Red Deer River | Hudson Bay | 17.6 | man-made reservoir |
| Glenmore Reservoir | Elbow River | Hudson Bay | 3.8 | man-made reservoir |
| Gull Lake | Red Deer River | Hudson Bay | 80.6 | |
| Headwall Lakes | Kananaskis River | Hudson Bay | 0.66 | contributing headwater mountain glacial lakes (0.45+0.21 km$^2$) |
| Hector Lake | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 5.23 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Hidden Lake | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 0.4 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Hoselaw Lake | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 0.4 | |
| Hutch Lake | • | • | • | • |
| Ipiatik Lake | • | • | • | • |
| Isle Lake | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 23 | known locally as Lake Isle |
| Jessie Lake | Beaver River | Hudson Bay | 5.5 | |
| Kinikinik Lake | Peace River | Arctic Ocean | | |
| Lower Kananaskis Lake | Kananaskis River | Hudson Bay | 6.0 | original lake expanded as man-made reservoir |
| Upper Kananaskis Lake | Kananaskis River | Hudson Bay | 8.4 | original lake expanded as man-made reservoir |
| Lessard Lake | • | • | 3.21 | • |
| Lesser Slave Lake | Lesser Slave River | Arctic Ocean | 1,160 | second largest lake completely in Alberta |
| Lake Louise | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 0.8 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Maligne Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 19.7 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Lower Mann Lake | Beaver River | closed basin | 5.10 | |
| Upper Mann Lake | Beaver River | closed basin | 4.59 | |
| McGregor Lake | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 51.4 | reservoir |
| Medicine Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 3.7 | |
| Milk Reservoir | Milk River | Gulf of Mexico | 14 | man-made reservoir |
| Lake Minnewanka | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 21.5 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake enlarged by dam |
| Moose Lake | Beaver River | Hudson Bay | 40.8 | |
| Moraine Lake | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 0.5 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Muriel Lake | Beaver River | closed basin | 64.1 | |
| Musreau Lake | Kakwa River | Hudson Bay | 5.49 | |
| Nakamun Lake | Toad Creek | Hudson Bay | 3.54 | |
| Lake Newell | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 66.4 | man-made reservoir |
| Lac la Nonne | Pembina River | Arctic Ocean | 12.28 | |
| Pakowki Lake | Milk River | Gulf of Mexico | 123.7 | largest lake in Southern Alberta |
| Peerless Lake | Peace River | Arctic Ocean | 82.6 | |
| Peyto Lake | Mistaya River | Hudson Bay | 1.4 | a contributing headwater mountain glacial lake |
| Pigeon Lake | Battle River | Hudson Bay | 96.7 | |
| Pinehurst Lake | Sand River | Hudson Bay | 40.7 | |
| Primrose Lake | Beaver River | Hudson Bay | 17.7 | Most of the lake's surface area 444 km$^2$ (171 sq mi) is located in Saskatchewan. |
| Pyramid Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 1.2 | |
| Rattlesnake Lake | South Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 10.7 | |
| Red Deer Lake | Battle River | Hudson Bay | 21 | |
| Lac Sante | | Hudson Bay | | |
| Saskatoon Lake | Peace River | Arctic Ocean | 7.47 | |
| Sikome Lake | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 0.4 | man-made recreation lake in Calgary |
| Skeleton Lake | Beaver River | Hudson Bay | 7.89 | |
| Spray Lakes | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 19.9 | man-made reservoir that was previously a string of lakes |
| Lac Ste. Anne | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 54.5 | |
| Sauer Lake | • | • | • | • |
| Steele Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 6.61 | formerly named Cross Lake because of its shape |
| Sturgeon Lake | Smoky River | Arctic Ocean | 49.1 | |
| Sylvan Lake | Red Deer River | Hudson Bay | 42.8 | |
| Telford Lake | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 13 | |
| Thunder Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 7.03 | |
| Touchwood Lake | Beaver River | Hudson Bay | 29 | |
| Tucker Lake | • | • | 6.65 | • |
| Twin Lake | • | • | 24ha | • |
| Utikuma Lake | Peace River | Arctic Ocean | 295 | |
| Vermilion Lakes | Bow River | Hudson Bay | 0.48 | a string of three lakes along the Bow River |
| Wabamun Lake | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 81.8 | |
| North Wabasca Lake | Wabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 101.4 | |
| South Wabasca Lake | Wabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 61.6 | |
| Waterton Lake | Oldman River | Hudson Bay | 11.6 | partly in Montana |
| Willow Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 25.8 | |
| Winagami Lake | Athabasca River | Arctic Ocean | 46.7 | |
| Winefred Lake | Clearwater River | Arctic Ocean | 122.8 | |
| Wizard Lake | North Saskatchewan River | Hudson Bay | 2.48 | |
| Wolf Lake | Beaver River | Hudson Bay | 31.5 | |
| Zama Lake | Hay River | Arctic Ocean | 55.5 | |