Largest Lakes
In terms of area covered, the largest lake in California is the Salton Sea, a lake formed in 1905 which is now saline. It occupies 376 square miles (970 km2) in the southeast corner of the state, but because it is shallow it only holds about 7,500,000 acre feet (9.3 km3) of water.
In terms of volume, the largest lake is Lake Tahoe, located on the California–Nevada border. It holds roughly 36 cubic miles (150 km3) of water. It is also the deepest lake in California, with a maximum depth of 1,645 feet (501 m).
Among freshwater lakes entirely contained within the state, the largest by area is Clear Lake, which covers 68 square miles (180 km2).
Many of California's large lakes are actually reservoirs—bodies of fresh water created by artificial means. In terms of both area and volume, the largest of these is Lake Shasta, which formed behind Shasta Dam in the 1940s. The dam can impound 4,552,000 acre feet (5.615 km3) of water over 29,740 acres (120.4 km2).
Lake Elsinore, which covers 3,000 acres (12 km2), is billed as the largest natural freshwater lake in Southern California.
Read more about this topic: Lakes Of California
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“If the fairest features of the landscape are to be named after men, let them be the noblest and worthiest men alone. Let our lakes receive as true names at least as the Icarian Sea, where “still the shore” a “brave attempt resounds.””
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)