One of the shallowest large lakes in the world for its area

Lake Winnipeg

A vast surface with remarkably little depth for such a large lake.

Surface area24,514 km²
Water volume284 km³
Max depth36 m
Mean depth12 m
Surface elevation217 m a.s.l.
LocationCanada
Typeglacial lake (remnant of Lake Agassiz)

Where the lake is

The pulsing dot marks the lake's position (Canada).

Lake Winnipeg
Area is not volume
11.by surface area
16.by water volume

among the 18 lakes in this section

The map intuition

One of Canada's largest lakes, so lots of water.

What measurement says

At a mean depth of 12 m, Winnipeg holds 284 km³. Issyk-Kul has about one quarter of Winnipeg's surface area but holds more than six times as much water because it is far deeper.

About the lake

Winnipeg is a long, broad lake in central Canada covering 24,514 km². It is a remnant of glacial Lake Agassiz, which covered a large part of central North America near the end of the last ice age.

Winnipeg is exceptionally shallow for its area. Its mean depth is about 12 m and its maximum depth 36 m. Its vast surface therefore holds 284 km³ of water, less than many much smaller but deeper lakes.

Lake Winnipeg: Questions

It is exceptionally shallow for its area, averaging about 12 m. Across 24,514 km², that yields 284 km³, less than many much smaller, deeper lakes.

A vast lake of glacial meltwater that covered central North America at the end of the last ice age. Winnipeg is its modest remnant.

Its mean depth is about 12 m and its maximum depth 36 m. That is very shallow compared with other lakes of a similar area.

Sources and data year
Other lakes in true scale