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

Reservoirs in Missouri

136 of 451 graded Missouri lakes (30%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 104 carry a High or Significant hazard rating.

Reading the Missouri reservoir landscape

Missouri hosts 136 man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams — a dense reservoir landscape that reflects significant federal, state, and utility-led impoundment construction over the 20th century. Reservoir lakes behave differently than natural lakes: water levels are managed for the dam's primary purpose, residence time depends on inflow and release schedules, and depth profiles follow the original river-valley topography rather than the bowl shape of glacial lakes.

Recreation is the headline purpose for the largest share of Missouri'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 Missouri reservoirs were built

Recreation

Water Supply

Flood Risk Reduction

Other

Fish and Wildlife Pond

136

Total reservoirs

58,747

Total surface acres

1,524,530

Normal storage (ac-ft)

104

High or Significant hazard

All 136 Missouri reservoirs (by surface area)

Reservoir	County	Grade	Surface area	Year built	Purpose	Hazard
Stockton Lake	Cedar	C	24,900 ac	1969	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Pomme de Terre Lake	Hickory	D	7,820 ac	1961	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Smithville Lake by Dam	Clay	D	7,190 ac	1979	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Montrose Lake	Henry	F	1,700 ac	1955	Recreation	Low
Clearwater Lake	Reynolds	C	1,630 ac	1942	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Jacomo Lake	Jackson	B	1,221 ac	1956	Recreation	High
Mozingo Lake	Nodaway	NR	1,009 ac	1992	Water Supply	High
Southern Mozingo Rservoir Lake	Nodaway	NR	1,009 ac	1992	Water Supply	High
Fellows Lake	Greene	A	812 ac	1955	Water Supply	High
Lake St Louis	St. Charles	NR	563 ac	1973	Recreation	High
Hazel Creek Lk. Lake	Adair	B	515 ac	1982	Recreation	Significant
Raintree Lake	Cass	F	475 ac	1974	Recreation	High
Harrisonville Lake	Cass	NR	398 ac	1971	Recreation	High
Goose Creek Lake	Ste. Genevieve	A	379 ac	1986	Recreation	High
Lake Springfield	Greene	D	360 ac	1956	Water Supply	High
Alpine Lake	Warren	A	325 ac	2000	Recreation	High
Sugar Creek Lake	Randolph	C	323 ac	1957	Water Supply	Low
Harrison County Lake Intake	Harrison	D	292 ac	1992	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Edwin A Pape Lake	Lafayette	NR	284 ac	1967	Water Supply	Low
Lake Paho	Mercer	NR	269.1 ac	1951	Recreation	High
Lake Nehai Tonkayea	Chariton	A	250 ac	1970	Recreation	Low
Hunnewell Lake	Shelby	C	228 ac	1953	Recreation	Significant
Elmwood Lake	Sullivan	F	224 ac	1972	Water Supply	High
Hemitite Lake	St. Francois	F	220 ac	1944	Water Supply	Low
Macon City Lake	Macon	D	205 ac	1927	Water Supply	High
Sunnen Lake	Washington	NR	198 ac	1948	Recreation	High
Indian Creek Lake	Livingston	NR	192 ac	1988	Recreation	High
Port Perry Lake	Perry	A	187 ac	1973	Recreation	High
Port Perry Lake South Arm	Perry	A	187 ac	1973	Recreation	High
Weatherby Lake	Platte	A	186 ac	1936	Recreation	High
King Lake	DeKalb	F	184 ac	1971	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Peaceful Valley Lake	Gasconade	C	164 ac	1965	Recreation	High
Pony Express Lake	DeKalb	D	164 ac	1963	Recreation	High
Henry Sever Lake	Knox	D	160 ac	1961	Recreation	High
Higginsville South Lake	Lafayette	D	151 ac	1949	Water Supply	Low
Aspen Lake Along Southern Arm	Warren	A	146 ac	1979	Recreation	High
Sherwood Lake	Warren	A	145 ac	1967	Recreation	High
Binder Lake	Cole	F	138 ac	1966	Recreation	High
Spring Fork Lake	Pettis	NR	128 ac	1925	Water Supply	High
Lake Capri	St. Francois	A	112 ac	1972	Recreation	High
Bilby Ranch Lake	Nodaway	D	110 ac	1991	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Low
Peters Lake	Howard	C	107 ac	1961	Recreation	High
Brookfield Lake	Linn	A	106 ac	1959	Water Supply	High
Watkins Mill Lake	Clay	C	100 ac	1971	Recreation	High
Little Prairie Lake	Phelps	NR	100 ac	1965	Recreation	High
Fox Valley Lake	Clark	A	96 ac	1983	Recreation	High
Blind Pony Lake	Saline	F	95 ac	1968	Recreation	Low
Lake Arrowhead	Clinton	D	87 ac	1975	Recreation	High
Waukomis Lake	Platte	B	82 ac	1968	Recreation	High
Finger Lakes	Boone	A	79 ac	—	Recreation	High
Lake Tapawingo	Jackson	D	78 ac	1926	Recreation	High
Teal Lake	Audrain	NR	78 ac	1969	Recreation	High
Manito Lake by Dam	Moniteau	D	77 ac	1984	Recreation	High
North Bethany City Reservoir	Harrison	NR	76 ac	1960	Water Supply	High
Hamilton Lake	Caldwell	D	76 ac	1954	Water Supply	High
Unionville Lake	Putnam	F	75 ac	1941	Recreation	Low
Nodaway Lake	Nodaway	F	73 ac	1966	Recreation	High
Hazel Hill Lake by Dam	Johnson	D	71 ac	1989	Recreation	Significant
L Ste Louise Lake	St. Charles	C	70 ac	1967	Recreation	High
Lake Serene	Franklin	D	65 ac	1957	Recreation	High
Marceline Lake	Linn	D	65 ac	1928	Water Supply	High
Lake of the Oaks	Clark	NR	65 ac	1962	Recreation	High
Happy Holler Lake	Andrew	NR	62 ac	1995	Recreation	High
Lake Marseilles-Terre du Lac Lakes	St. Francois	A	56 ac	1971	Recreation	High
Port Hudson Lake	Franklin	C	55 ac	1992	Fish and Wildlife Pond	High
Rocky Fork Lake	Boone	F	55 ac	1965	Other	Low
Lake Shayne-Terre du Lac Lakes	Washington	A	51 ac	1979	Recreation	High
Fourche Creek Lake	Ripley	A	49 ac	1975	Recreation	High
Lincoln Lake	Lincoln	A	48 ac	1965	Recreation	High
Deer Ridge Comm. Lake	Lewis	D	48 ac	1960	Recreation	High
Belcher Branch Lake	Buchanan	NR	46 ac	1992	Fish and Wildlife Pond	High
Bowling Green Lake	Pike	A	45 ac	1954	Water Supply	High
Ben Branch Lake by Dam	Osage	D	44 ac	1984	Recreation	High
Catclaw Lake	Jackson	NR	43 ac	1966	Recreation	Low
Lake Lucern	Warren	B	42 ac	1971	Recreation	High
Timberline Lakes	St. Francois	A	42 ac	1963	Recreation	High
Cole Lake	Jefferson	NR	42 ac	1948	Recreation	High
Gopher Lake	Jackson	F	40 ac	1966	Recreation	Low
Lost Valley Lake	Gasconade	C	39 ac	1974	Recreation	High
Vandalia Community Lake	Audrain	F	38 ac	1956	Recreation	High
Sterling Price Lake	Chariton	F	35 ac	1958	Recreation	Low
Phillips Lake	Boone	B	33 ac	1965	Recreation	High
Jo Shelby Lake	Linn	C	31 ac	1958	Recreation	Low
Nell Lake	Jackson	F	30 ac	1955	Recreation	Low
Lake Marie	Mercer	A	30 ac	1981	Recreation	High
Shelbyville Lake	Shelby	F	30 ac	1956	Recreation	High
Jamesport Community Lake	Daviess	F	30 ac	1956	Recreation	Low
Ashland Lake	Boone	F	29 ac	1937	Other	Low
North Lake	Cass	F	28 ac	1955	Recreation	Low
Jackrabbit Lake	Jackson	F	28 ac	1955	Recreation	Low
Tri City Lake	Boone	D	28 ac	1957	Recreation	Low
Limpp Lake	Gentry	NR	28 ac	1960	Recreation	High
Rock Lake Village Lake	Johnson	A	27 ac	2006	—	High
Rinquelin Trail Comm. Lake	Maries	NR	27 ac	1972	Recreation	Significant
Rothwell Lake	Randolph	C	26 ac	1902	Recreation	High
Fon-du-Lac Reservoir	Jefferson	F	26 ac	1954	Recreation	High
Fawn Lake	Franklin	C	25 ac	1969	Recreation	Significant
Coot Lake	Jackson	F	23 ac	1958	Other	High
Crowder S.P. Lake	Grundy	NR	22 ac	1941	Recreation	Low
Jamesport City Lake	Daviess	NR	22 ac	1955	Water Supply	Low
Cottontail Lake	Jackson	F	21 ac	1966	Recreation	Low
Shepard Mountain Lake Intake	Iron	D	21 ac	1955	Recreation	High
Cameron Lake Deep Site	DeKalb	F	21 ac	1925	Water Supply	High
Harrisonville City Lake	Cass	F	21 ac	1934	Water Supply	High
Old Reservoir	Randolph	C	21 ac	1870	Recreation	High
Cedar Lake	Boone	F	21 ac	1975	Recreation	High
Ripley County Lake	Ripley	A	20 ac	1958	Recreation	Significant
Whiteside Lake	Lincoln	C	20 ac	1980	Recreation	High
Lake Wooldridge	Saline	NR	20 ac	1963	Recreation	High
Lake Konstanz	Warren	A	19 ac	1999	—	High
Houston Lake	Platte	F	19 ac	1930	Recreation	High
Sugar Hollow Lake	Warren	C	17 ac	1968	Recreation	High
Lake Luna	Cass	F	17 ac	1920	Recreation	High
Perry City Lake	Ralls	NR	16 ac	1964	Water Supply	High
Milan Lake North	Sullivan	NR	15 ac	1911	Recreation	Low
Seetal Lake	Gasconade	A	14 ac	1971	Recreation	High
Red Fox Lake	Warren	C	13 ac	1964	Recreation	High
Whippoorwill Lake	Warren	A	13 ac	1964	Recreation	High
Mckee Pond	Boone	C	13 ac	1979	Recreation	High
Port Perry Lake North Arm	Perry	A	12 ac	1972	Recreation	High
Stephens Lake	Boone	NR	11 ac	1939	Recreation	High
Castlenovo Lake	Warren	A	10 ac	1976	Recreation	High
Mccormack Lake	Oregon	NR	10 ac	1937	Recreation	Significant
Izaak Walton Lake	Vernon	NR	10 ac	1926	Recreation	High
Robin Hood Lake	Warren	D	9 ac	1970	Recreation	Low
Lake of the Woods	Boone	NR	9 ac	1960	Recreation	High
Bee Tree Lake	St. Louis	NR	9 ac	1972	Recreation	High
Lake Buteo	Johnson	A	8 ac	1927	Recreation	Low
Railraod Lake	Moniteau	NR	8 ac	1900	Recreation	Low
Marion Reservoir	Franklin	NR	7 ac	1965	Recreation	Low
Lake of the Woods-Kc	Jackson	D	6 ac	1907	Other	Low
Lewis Lake	Stoddard	NR	6 ac	1995	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Low
Lake of the Woods	Jackson	F	6 ac	1907	Other	Low
Foxboro Lake	Franklin	NR	4 ac	1974	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Significant
Lake Eleanor	Warren	C	3 ac	1966	Recreation	Low
Council Bluff Lake	Iron	A	—	1981	Recreation	High

Frequently Asked Questions

How many reservoirs are in Missouri?

136 of 451 graded Missouri lakes (30%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 104 are rated High or Significant hazard, meaning failure would put downstream lives or property at substantial risk. The oldest matched dam dates to 1870.

What's the largest reservoir in Missouri?

The largest matched reservoir in Missouri is Stockton Lake in Cedar County at 24,900 acres of normal surface area, impounded by the Stockton Dam (completed 1969).

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 Missouri reservoirs

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

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More on reservoirs and water quality

Are Reservoirs Cleaner Than Natural Lakes?

Dam-built reservoirs and natural lakes graded 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 A–F nutrient-and-algae grades: the pattern, the shallow lakes that still grade an A, and why land use beats bathymetry.

Lake Water Quality Grades Explained: What A–F Means

How lakes are graded A–F on nutrients and algae using EPA ecoregion condition classes, what each letter means in the water, and why an A 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 grade.

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.