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

Reservoirs in North Carolina

107 of 395 measured North Carolina lakes (27%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 95 carry a High or Significant hazard rating.

Reading the North Carolina reservoir landscape

North Carolina hosts 107 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 North Carolina'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 North Carolina reservoirs were built

Recreation

Water Supply

Hydroelectric

Other

Flood Risk Reduction

Fish and Wildlife Pond

107

Total reservoirs

124,152

Total surface acres

4,161,033

Normal storage (ac-ft)

High or Significant hazard

All 107 North Carolina reservoirs (by surface area)

Reservoir	County	Surface area	Year built	Purpose	Hazard
Lake Gaston	Northampton	20,300 ac	1963	Hydroelectric	High
High Rock Lake	Davidson	15,180 ac	1927	Hydroelectric	High
B Everett Jordan Lake	Chatham	13,940 ac	1974	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Fontana Lake	Graham	10,290 ac	1944	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Hiwassee Reservoir	Cherokee	5,870 ac	1940	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Roanoke Rapids Lake	Halifax	4,600 ac	1955	Hydroelectric	High
Hyco Lake	Person	4,015 ac	1963	Recreation	High
Belews Lake	Stokes	3,863 ac	1972	Other	High
Mountain Island Lake	Gaston	3,235 ac	1923	Hydroelectric	High
Randleman Lake	Randolph	3,070 ac	2002	Recreation	High
Santeetlah Lake	Graham	2,884 ac	1928	Hydroelectric	High
Mayo Reservoir	Person	2,800 ac	—	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Tuckertown Reservoir	Rowan	2,560 ac	1962	Hydroelectric	High
Blewett Falls Lake	Anson	2,560 ac	1912	Hydroelectric	High
Lake Cheoah	Graham	1,767 ac	1919	Hydroelectric	High
Lake Townsend	Guilford	1,635 ac	1969	Recreation	High
Nantahala Lake	Macon	1,605 ac	1942	Hydroelectric	High
Thorpe Reservoir	Jackson	1,462 ac	1941	Hydroelectric	High
Coddle Creek Reservoir	Cabarrus	1,300 ac	1993	Water Supply	High
Sutton Lake	New Hanover	1,185 ac	1972	Other	Low
Center of Sutton Lake	New Hanover	1,185 ac	1972	Other	Low
Lake Mackintosh	Guilford	1,125 ac	1992	Other	High
Apalachia Lake	Cherokee	1,100 ac	1943	Hydroelectric	High
Tar River Reservoir	Nash	1,000 ac	1971	Other	High
Lookout Shoals Lake	Catawba	835 ac	1915	Hydroelectric	High
Lake Brandt	Guilford	817 ac	1960	Recreation	High
Merchants Millpond	Gates	760 ac	—	Fish and Wildlife Pond	High
Lake Burlington	Alamance	757 ac	—	Other	High
Lake Lure	Rutherford	740 ac	1927	Hydroelectric	High
Reidsville Lake	Rockingham	680 ac	1974	Water Supply	High
Lake Thom-A-Lex	Davidson	650 ac	1957	Water Supply	High
Lake Wheeler	Wake	560 ac	1956	Recreation	High
Little River Reservoir	Durham	550 ac	1984	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Bear Creek Reservoir	Jackson	476 ac	1954	Hydroelectric	High
Lake Crabtree	Wake	473 ac	1988	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Julian	Buncombe	470 ac	1962	Hydroelectric	High
Lake Benson	Wake	463 ac	1952	Other	High
Lake Michie	Durham	460 ac	1926	Other	High
Lake Adger	Polk	438 ac	1925	Hydroelectric	High
Farmer Lake	Caswell	390 ac	1983	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Butner	Granville	340 ac	—	Recreation	High
Burnett Reservoir	Buncombe	334 ac	1954	Water Supply	High
Lake Twitty	Union	327 ac	1973	Water Supply	High
Salem Lake	Forsyth	297.5 ac	2012	Recreation	High
Lake Summit	Henderson	290 ac	1920	Hydroelectric	High
West Fk Eno R Reservoir	Orange	271.5 ac	2000	Water Supply	High
Kannapolis Lake	Rowan	267 ac	1940	Water Supply	High
Back Creek Lake	Randolph	236 ac	1947	Other	High
Lake Higgins	Guilford	226 ac	1956	Recreation	High
Lake Isaac Walton	Person	224 ac	1955	Recreation	High
University Lake	Orange	213 ac	1932	Water Supply	High
Falls Lake	Montgomery	204 ac	1919	Hydroelectric	High
Lake Junaluska	Haywood	195 ac	1913	Recreation	High
Lake Tabor	Columbus	172 ac	1999	Recreation	High
Lake Fisher	Cabarrus	169 ac	1948	Water Supply	High
Lake Hunt	Rockingham	160 ac	1966	Recreation	High
Lake Johnson	Wake	147.5 ac	1914	Water Supply	High
Lake Orange	Orange	140 ac	1969	Water Supply	High
Lake Lee	Union	122 ac	1925	Other	High
Lake Monroe	Union	118 ac	1955	Recreation	High
Rocky River Reservoir	Chatham	100 ac	1961	Other	Low
Sunset Lake	Wake	98.1 ac	1923	Recreation	High
Sandy Creek Reservoir	Randolph	90 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Lake Raleigh	Wake	88.1 ac	1914	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Concord	Cabarrus	84 ac	1926	Recreation	High
Lake Wilson	Wilson	81.2 ac	1960	Water Supply	High
City Pond	Anson	80 ac	1920	Recreation	High
Roberdel Lake	Richmond	80 ac	—	Hydroelectric	Significant
Allen Creek Reservoir	Haywood	76.4 ac	1982	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Limestone Lake	Duplin	69 ac	1993	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Hope Mills Lake	Cumberland	68 ac	1921	Recreation	High
Old Town Reservoir	Moore	61 ac	1924	Recreation	High
Bass Lake	Wake	58.6 ac	1900	Recreation	High
Water Lake	Richmond	56 ac	1908	Recreation	High
Sycamore Lake	Wake	55 ac	1955	Recreation	Low
Lake Sequoyah	Macon	54 ac	1926	Hydroelectric	High
Wake Forest Reservoir @ Dam	Wake	54 ac	1960	Recreation	High
Hamlet City Lake	Richmond	45 ac	1934	Other	High
Beetree Reservoir	Buncombe	41 ac	1927	Water Supply	High
Wolf Creek Reservoir	Jackson	40 ac	1955	Hydroelectric	High
Kernersville Lake	Forsyth	40 ac	1952	Water Supply	High
Pages Lake	Moore	34 ac	1945	Recreation	High
Big Lake	Wake	25 ac	1940	Recreation	Low
Bunch Lake	Randolph	25 ac	1942	Water Supply	High
Bessemer City Lake	Gaston	25 ac	1955	Water Supply	High
Asu Lake	Watauga	22 ac	1974	Water Supply	High
Turner Reservoir	Chatham	18 ac	1953	Recreation	Low
Newton City Lake	Catawba	15 ac	1936	Water Supply	High
Hanging Rock Lake	Stokes	11.9 ac	1938	Recreation	High
Glenville Lake	Cumberland	11 ac	1909	Water Supply	High
Carthage City Lake	Moore	9 ac	1945	Water Supply	Low
Cliffs of the Neuse Lake	Wayne	8.5 ac	1951	Recreation	Low
Reedy Creek Lake	Wake	7.5 ac	1955	Recreation	Low
Buckeye Lake	Watauga	6.5 ac	1987	Water Supply	High
Blowing Rock Town Pond	Watauga	5.7 ac	1958	Water Supply	High
Corporation Lake	Orange	5 ac	1968	Other	Low
Kings Mountain Reservoir	Cleveland	0.4 ac	—	Recreation	Significant
Buckhorn Dam Lake	Chatham	—	1915	Other	Low
Greenfield Lake	New Hanover	—	1800	Recreation	Low
Chatuge Lake	Clay	—	1942	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Wiggins Mill Reservoir	Wilson	—	—	Other	Significant
Lake Ben Johnson	Orange	—	1955	Other	Significant
Buckhorn Reservoir	Wilson	—	—	Water Supply	High
Lake Rogers	Granville	—	—	Recreation	High
Apex Reservoir	Wake	—	1968	Recreation	High
Lake Hampton	Yadkin	—	2010	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Devin	Granville	—	—	Water Supply	High

Frequently Asked Questions

How many reservoirs are in North Carolina?

107 of 395 measured North Carolina lakes (27%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 95 are rated High or Significant hazard, meaning failure would put downstream lives or property at substantial risk. The oldest matched dam dates to 1800.

What's the largest reservoir in North Carolina?

The largest matched reservoir in North Carolina is Lake Gaston in Northampton County at 20,300 acres of normal surface area, impounded by the Gaston (completed 1963).

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 North Carolina reservoirs

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More on reservoirs and water quality

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Lake Water Quality Explained: What the Readings Mean

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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.