Two canoes crossing open water between forested points in the Boundary Waters

Updated August 2026

Biggest Lake in New Mexico: Elephant Butte (36,500 acres)

Elephant Butte Reservoir is New Mexico's largest lake per the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Below: 50 New Mexico lakes ranked by surface area.

The largest lake in New Mexico is Elephant Butte Reservoir at 36,500 acres , in Sierra (upper reservoir extends into Socorro) County, according to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.

See our Elephant Butte Reservoir water-quality report card NR

Source: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (2026-07-30 (accessed)). The table below ranks the New Mexico lakes in our own index by surface area.

Lakes with area data

42,750

Largest (acres)

470

Median of top 50

11/50

Reservoirs (vs natural)

Reading New Mexico's size profile

New Mexico's largest lake by surface area is E Butte Lake in Sierra County, spanning 42,750 acres. Most of New Mexico's biggest waters are natural basins left by glaciers, with stable shorelines and deep main basins.

Surface area is a poor proxy for water quality on its own — a large lake can hold a clean, deep core and a nutrient-loaded bay at the same time. Each lake below links to its full report card with grade, clarity, depth, and EPA impairment status. Area figures come from state DNR surveys and the USACE National Inventory of Dams; grades come from EPA and state monitoring data.

The 50 biggest lakes in New Mexico by surface area

#	Lake	County	Surface area	Max depth	Grade
1	E Butte Lake	Sierra	42,750 acres	-	D
2	Brantley Reservoir Deep	Eddy	39,301 acres	-	NR
3	Caballo Lake	Sierra	14,530 acres	-	F
4	Sumner Lake Dam	De Baca	7,615 acres	-	NR
5	Laguna del Perro	Torrance	4,477 acres	-	NR
6	El Vado Reservoir	Rio Arriba	3,380 acres	-	NR
7	Lake Lucero	Doña Ana	3,326 acres	-	NR
8	Conchas Reservoir	San Miguel	2,694 acres	-	A
9	Eagle Nest Lake	Colfax	2,496 acres	-	NR
10	Salt Lake	Roosevelt	2,303 acres	-	NR
11	Playas Lake	Hidalgo	2,276 acres	-	NR
12	Salt Lake	Eddy	1,900 acres	-	NR
13	Conchas Lake	San Miguel	1,805 acres	-	NR
14	Bluewater Lake	Cibola	1,730 acres	-	NR
15	Cochiti Lake	Sandoval	1,303 acres	-	NR
16	Lake Sumner	De Baca	1,262 acres	-	NR
17	Morgan Lake	San Juan	1,257 acres	-	NR
18	Laguna Plata	Lea	1,079 acres	-	NR
19	Jemez Canyon Reservoir	Sandoval	1,057 acres	-	NR
20	Salina Lake	Torrance	1,018 acres	-	NR
21	Stinking Lake	Rio Arriba	752 acres	-	NR
22	Big Salt Lake	Sierra	744 acres	-	NR
23	Red Lake	Chaves	542 acres	-	NR
24	Snow Lake	Catron	539 acres	-	NR
25	Ramah Reservoir Deep	McKinley	514 acres	-	NR
26	Stone Lake	Rio Arriba	470 acres	-	NR
27	Red Lake	McKinley	462 acres	-	NR
28	Springer Lake	Colfax	453 acres	-	NR
29	Number Two Lake	Colfax	447 acres	-	NR
30	Laguna La Monia	San Miguel	446 acres	-	NR
31	Lane Salt Lake	Lea	393 acres	-	NR
32	Laguna Gatuna	Lea	392 acres	-	NR
33	Red Lake	De Baca	391 acres	-	NR
34	Little Salt Lake	Roosevelt	382 acres	-	NR
35	Tucumcari Lake	Quay	358 acres	-	NR
36	North Lake	Socorro	342 acres	-	NR
37	Adobe Lake	Chaves	342 acres	-	NR
38	Lewiston Lake	Roosevelt	341 acres	-	NR
39	Juans Lake	San Juan	339 acres	-	NR
40	Costilla Reservoir	Taos	333 acres	-	NR
41	Laguna Grande	McKinley	330 acres	-	NR
42	Cherry Valley Lake	Mora	306 acres	-	NR
43	Laguna Tierra Amatosa	Harding	291 acres	-	NR
44	Little Red Lake	Chaves	271 acres	-	NR
45	Berry Lake	Colfax	249 acres	-	NR
46	Silman Lake	Chaves	232 acres	-	NR
47	Black Rock Reservoir	McKinley	229 acres	-	NR
48	Samples Lake	Chaves	229 acres	-	NR
49	Lake David	San Miguel	223 acres	-	NR
50	Willow Lake	Eddy	223 acres	-	NR

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the largest lake in New Mexico?

Elephant Butte Reservoir, at 36,500 acres, in Sierra (upper reservoir extends into Socorro) County. Source: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 2026-07-30 (accessed).

How is lake surface area measured?

Surface area comes from state DNR lake surveys and, for reservoirs, US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) National Inventory of Dams records. Area is reported in acres at normal pool level. Reservoirs rise and fall with management and drought, so their listed area is the long-term normal rather than a single-day reading.

Are New Mexico's largest lakes natural or reservoirs?

Of the top 50 New Mexico lakes by area, 11 sit on a dammed river (reservoirs) and 39 are natural basins. Glacial states (MN, WI, MI, NY) skew natural; plains and southern states (MO, IA, ND, OH) skew toward reservoirs built for water supply, flood control, and recreation.

Do larger lakes have better water quality?

Not reliably. Quality varies more within a big lake than between lakes — a large lake can have a clean, deep main basin and a murky, algae-prone bay fed by a tributary, so one grade can mask wide swings. Depth, watershed land use, and how fast the lake flushes matter far more than raw surface area.

How big is the typical New Mexico lake in this ranking?

Across the top 50 New Mexico lakes by surface area, the median is 470 acres (Stone Lake). This list is biased toward the biggest waters; the typical New Mexico lake is far smaller.

Where to stay near New Mexico's largest lakes

Planning a trip? Jump to live cabin, resort, and hotel availability near New Mexico's biggest lakes.

Deepest lakes in New Mexico →Largest lakes (all states) →All New Mexico lakes →