A red sun low over Slim Lake through wildfire haze, its reflection a column of orange on the water

Reservoirs in Arkansas

86 of 632 measured Arkansas lakes (14%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 64 carry a High or Significant hazard rating.

Reading the Arkansas reservoir landscape

86 reservoirs in Arkansas appear in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. That's a meaningful share — reservoir lakes carry their own ecology and access patterns distinct from natural lakes, including managed water levels, drawdowns timed to the dam's purpose, and shoreline mix dominated by structures built post-impoundment.

Recreation is the headline purpose for the largest share of Arkansas's reservoirs — lakes where the dam exists explicitly to create surface water for fishing, boating, and adjacent shoreline development. Pool levels are typically maintained more stably than at flood-control or hydro reservoirs, which supports fixed-dock access, consistent boat ramps, and the kind of shoreline economy that natural-lake counterparts in the state share.

The USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID) catalogs every dam in the United States above a size threshold — typically 25 feet in height or 50 acre-feet in maximum storage, plus all dams classified as high-hazard regardless of size. The reservoir records below pull NID fields (year built, hazard class, maximum storage, surface area at normal pool, dam length, primary purpose) and pair them with water-quality data where the impoundment also appears in EPA's lake-monitoring inventory.

Why these Arkansas reservoirs were built

Recreation

Flood Risk Reduction

Water Supply

Fish and Wildlife Pond

Hydroelectric

Other

Irrigation

Total reservoirs

187,732

Total surface acres

5,800,301

Normal storage (ac-ft)

High or Significant hazard

All 86 Arkansas reservoirs (by surface area)

Reservoir	County	Surface area	Year built	Purpose	Hazard
Lake Ouachita	Garland	40,100 ac	1953	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Millwood	Little River	29,000 ac	1966	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Beaver Lake	Carroll	28,220 ac	1963	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Norfork Lake	Baxter	22,000 ac	1944	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Degray Lake	Clark	13,400 ac	1969	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Maumelle Raw Water Intake	Pulaski	8,900 ac	1957	Water Supply	High
Lake Hamilton	Garland	6,897 ac	1932	Hydroelectric	High
Lake Catherine	Garland	6,897 ac	1932	Hydroelectric	High
Nimrod Lake	Yell	3,550 ac	1942	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Columbia	Columbia	2,751 ac	1986	Water Supply	Significant
Lake Erling	Lafayette	2,350 ac	1956	Water Supply	Significant
Lake Georgia-Pacific	Ashley	1,725 ac	1963	Irrigation	Low
Cane Creek Lake	Lincoln	1,620 ac	1989	Recreation	Significant
Beaverfork Lake	Faulkner	1,394 ac	1956	Water Supply	Significant
Dierks Lake	Howard	1,360 ac	1975	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Gillham Lake	Howard	1,300 ac	1975	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Winona	Saline	1,280 ac	1938	Water Supply	Low
Harris Break Lake	Perry	1,240 ac	1954	Recreation	High
Brewer Lake	Conway	1,165 ac	1983	Water Supply	Significant
Lower White Oak Lake	Ouachita	1,000 ac	1959	Recreation	High
Lake Atkins	Pope	752 ac	1946	Recreation	Significant
Crown Lake	Izard	645 ac	1972	Recreation	Significant
Lee Creek Lake	Crawford	634 ac	1992	Water Supply	High
Upper White Oak Lake	Ouachita	597.8 ac	1960	Recreation	Significant
Lake Charles	Lawrence	562 ac	1962	Flood Risk Reduction	Significant
Lake Poinsett	Poinsett	540 ac	1967	Recreation	High
Swepco Lake	Benton	530 ac	1977	Water Supply	High
Bear Creek Lake	Lee	520 ac	1938	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Low
Storm Creek Lake	Phillips	510 ac	1939	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Low
Lake Sequoyah	Washington	490 ac	1960	Recreation	Low
Loch Lomond Lake	Benton	477 ac	1981	Recreation	High
Lake Fort Smith	Crawford	470 ac	1954	Water Supply	High
Des Arc Lake	Prairie	350 ac	1967	Recreation	Low
Lake Frierson	Greene	335 ac	1974	Recreation	High
Tri County Lake	Calhoun	288.9 ac	1962	Recreation	Low
Barnett Lake	White	245 ac	1979	Recreation	Significant
Lake Fayetteville	Washington	230 ac	1949	Recreation	High
Lake Windsor	Benton	220 ac	1974	Recreation	Significant
Lake Jack Nolan	Sebastian	207 ac	1991	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Significant
Bobb Kidd Lake	Washington	200 ac	1975	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Wilson	Washington	190.2 ac	1941	Recreation	Significant
Lake Wilson	Washington	190.2 ac	1941	Recreation	Significant
Bragg Lake	Ouachita	166.5 ac	1940	Recreation	Low
Cove Lake	Logan	166 ac	1938	Fish and Wildlife Pond	High
Lake Omaha	Fulton	139 ac	1969	Recreation	Significant
Diamond Lake	Izard	116 ac	1974	Recreation	Low
Horsehead Lake	Johnson	111 ac	1950	Recreation	High
South Fourche Lake	Perry	104 ac	1976	Flood Risk Reduction	Low
Spring Lake	Yell	90 ac	1939	Fish and Wildlife Pond	High
Lake Ann	Benton	90 ac	1970	Recreation	High
Lincoln Lake	Washington	89 ac	1963	Water Supply	Significant
Leatherwood Lake	Carroll	85 ac	1939	Recreation	High
Lake Leatherwood	Carroll	85 ac	1939	Recreation	High
Vagabond Lake	Sharp	77 ac	1960	Recreation	High
Lake Sequoyah	Sharp	73 ac	1958	Recreation	High
Lake Thunderbird	Sharp	73 ac	1958	Recreation	High
Lake Sherwood	Sharp	66 ac	1963	Recreation	High
Lake Austelle	Cross	66 ac	1975	Recreation	Low
Lake Chanute	Fulton	65 ac	1971	Recreation	High
Lake Mirandy	Sharp	61 ac	1958	Recreation	High
Lake June	Lafayette	59.8 ac	1951	Recreation	Low
Lakewood Lake Number One	Pulaski	57 ac	1925	Recreation	Significant
Lakewood Lake Number Two	Pulaski	57 ac	1925	Recreation	Significant
Lake Avalon	Benton	56 ac	1968	Recreation	Significant
Lake Rayburn	Benton	45 ac	1973	Recreation	Significant
Crystal Lake	Benton	42 ac	1959	Recreation	Significant
Big Base Lake East	Pulaski	40 ac	1958	Recreation	High
Big Base Lake West	Pulaski	40 ac	1958	Recreation	High
Lil Base Lake	Pulaski	40 ac	1958	Recreation	High
Norwood Lake	Benton	35 ac	1972	Recreation	Significant
Lake Brittany	Benton	33 ac	1979	Recreation	Significant
Lake Atalanta	Benton	30 ac	1936	Recreation	High
Lake Cherokee	Sharp	28 ac	1956	Recreation	High
Rock Creek Lake	Perry	27 ac	1978	Flood Risk Reduction	Low
Lake Kimberly	Independence	27 ac	1976	Recreation	Low
Lake Sylvia	Perry	21 ac	1938	Recreation	Significant
Hindsville Lake	Madison	20 ac	1946	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Low
Lakewood Lake Number Three	Pulaski	12 ac	1925	Recreation	Significant
Partners Lake_spillway	Benton	7 ac	1949	Other	High
Siloam Springs Lake	Benton	—	1952	Recreation	Low
Lake Grampus	Ashley	—	1968	Recreation	Low
Lake Conway	Faulkner	—	1950	Water Supply	Low
Upper Lake Chicot	Chicot	—	1942	Recreation	Low
Lake Hogue	Poinsett	—	1960	Recreation	Low
Lake Pine Bluff Diagonally From North And East Levees	Jefferson	—	1965	Recreation	Low
Lake Wallace	Chicot	—	1960	Recreation	Low

Frequently Asked Questions

How many reservoirs are in Arkansas?

86 of 632 measured Arkansas lakes (14%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 64 are rated High or Significant hazard, meaning failure would put downstream lives or property at substantial risk. The oldest matched dam dates to 1925.

What's the largest reservoir in Arkansas?

The largest matched reservoir in Arkansas is Lake Ouachita in Garland County at 40,100 acres of normal surface area, impounded by the Blakely Mountain Dam (completed 1953).

What's the difference between a reservoir and a natural lake?

A reservoir is a body of water impounded by a man-made dam — typically built for flood control, hydroelectric power, water supply, irrigation, or recreation. A natural lake formed without human intervention, usually from glacial scouring, volcanic activity, or river meandering. Reservoirs typically have shoreline that fluctuates with seasonal water level management, while natural lakes have more stable shorelines. The USACE National Inventory of Dams classifies every regulated dam in the United States, which is how we identify which LakeQuality lakes are actually reservoirs.

What does the hazard class mean?

USACE assigns each dam a hazard potential classification based on what would happen downstream if the dam failed — NOT how likely the dam is to fail. "Low" hazard means dam failure would cause no probable loss of life and only low economic loss. "Significant" means probable loss of life is unlikely but appreciable economic damage would occur. "High" means probable loss of life and significant economic damage. The classification is about consequence, not condition. Many High-hazard dams are perfectly safe; they're rated High because populated areas have grown downstream over time.

Where does this reservoir data come from?

Every reservoir record on this page is matched to the USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID), the federal database of all dams ≥25 ft tall or impounding ≥50 acre-feet, plus any dam that poses a Significant or High hazard regardless of size. The NID is published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and updated annually. Surface area, storage capacity, dam height, and hazard classification come directly from NID records.

Where to stay near Arkansas reservoirs

Compare cabins, lodges, and vacation rentals near the largest reservoirs in Arkansas — live availability and prices for boating, fishing, and lake trips.

Top-rated places to stay near Arkansas reservoirs

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More on reservoirs and water quality

Are Reservoirs Cleaner Than Natural Lakes?

Dam-built reservoirs and natural lakes compared side by side on the same nutrient and algae measurements — the gap, the reasons behind it, and the exceptions.

Do Deeper Lakes Have Better Water Quality?

Surveyed maximum depth against nutrient and algae readings: the pattern, the shallow lakes that still read clean, and why land use beats bathymetry.

Lake Water Quality Explained: What the Readings Mean

How nutrient and algae readings are read against EPA ecoregion condition classes, what each class means in the water, and why a clean reading is not a clearance.

Why Lakes Turn Green: Phosphorus and Nutrient Pollution

How phosphorus and nutrient runoff drive algae growth and turn lakes green, where the nutrients come from, and what it means for a lake’s readings.

Data source

Reservoir data from the USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID), the federal database of all regulated dams. Dam attributes (height, year completed, storage capacity, hazard class) are matched to LakeQuality lakes by proximity and dam-name similarity. Some lakes may be reservoirs that aren't matched if the dam record uses a name substantially different from our lake name.