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

Reservoirs in North Dakota

81 of 826 measured North Dakota lakes (10%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 44 carry a High or Significant hazard rating.

Reading the North Dakota reservoir landscape

81 reservoirs in North Dakota 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 North Dakota'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 Dakota reservoirs were built

Recreation

Flood Risk Reduction

Fish and Wildlife Pond

Water Supply

Other

Irrigation

Total reservoirs

75,938

Total surface acres

716,522

Normal storage (ac-ft)

High or Significant hazard

All 81 North Dakota reservoirs (by surface area)

Reservoir	County	Surface area	Year built	Purpose	Hazard
Lake Audubon	McLean	19,095 ac	1952	Other	Significant
Jamestown Reservoir	Stutsman	17,427 ac	1954	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Tschida	Grant	10,953 ac	1949	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Ashtabula	Barnes	5,470 ac	1950	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Alice	Ramsey	3,067 ac	1942	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Low
E A Patterson Lake	Stark	2,158 ac	1950	Irrigation	High
Bowman-Haley Dam Lake	Bowman	1,750 ac	1967	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Metigoshe	Bottineau	1,620 ac	1961	Recreation	Low
Buffalo Lodge Lake	McHenry	1,395 ac	—	Recreation	Low
Buffalo Lake	Pierce	990 ac	1930	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Low
Beaver Lake	Logan	953.1 ac	1934	Recreation	Low
Green Lake	McIntosh	906 ac	1973	Recreation	Low
Belourt Outlet Lake	Rolette	827 ac	1930	Recreation	High
Belcourt Lake Beach	Rolette	827 ac	1930	Recreation	High
Nelson Lake	Oliver	660 ac	1967	Other	High
Lake Lamoure	LaMoure	494.1 ac	1973	Recreation	Significant
Mt Carmel Dam Lake	Cavalier	386 ac	1971	Recreation	Significant
Harvey Dam Lake	Wells	360 ac	1920	Water Supply	Significant
South Golden Lake	Steele	330 ac	1957	Recreation	Low
North Golden Lake	Steele	313 ac	1957	Recreation	Low
Homme Dam Lake	Walsh	290 ac	1950	Water Supply	High
Stanley Reservoir	Mountrail	253 ac	1968	Water Supply	Low
Bisbee-Big Coulee Dam Lake	Towner	240 ac	1968	Recreation	Significant
Indian Creek Dam Lake	Hettinger	236 ac	1979	Recreation	Significant
Larson Lake	Hettinger	235 ac	1934	Recreation	Low
Pheasant Lake	Dickey	234 ac	1963	Water Supply	Significant
Renwick Dam Lake	Pembina	223 ac	1962	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Cedar Lake	Slope	210 ac	1935	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Low
Fordville Dam Lake	Grand Forks	197.1 ac	1978	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Froelich Dam Lake	Sioux	175 ac	1962	Recreation	Low
Tolna Dam Lake	Nelson	166.3 ac	1936	Recreation	Significant
Gordon Center Lake	Rolette	164 ac	1960	Recreation	High
Wheaton Lake	Rolette	164 ac	1960	Recreation	High
Gordon Beach Lake	Rolette	164 ac	1960	Recreation	High
White Earth Dam Lake	Mountrail	160.2 ac	1970	Recreation	High
Blacktail Dam Lake	Williams	158 ac	1959	Recreation	Significant
Northgate Dam Lake	Burke	152 ac	1968	Recreation	Significant
Epping-Springbrook Dam-Deepest Lake	Williams	148 ac	1935	Recreation	Significant
Harmon Lake	Morton	144 ac	2007	Recreation	Significant
Whitman Dam Lake	Nelson	143.4 ac	1965	Flood Risk Reduction	Significant
Hiddenwood Lake	Ward	131 ac	1933	Flood Risk Reduction	Low
Brewer Lake	Cass	130 ac	1970	Recreation	Significant
Odland Dam Lake	Golden Valley	128.2 ac	1936	Recreation	Low
Silver Lake	Sargent	124 ac	1937	Recreation	Low
Dead Colt Creek Dam Lake	Ransom	124 ac	1984	Flood Risk Reduction	Significant
Short Creek Dam Lake	Burke	112 ac	1962	Recreation	Significant
Lake Upsilon	Rolette	110 ac	1966	Recreation	Low
Mirror Lake	Adams	94.33 ac	1909	Recreation	Significant
Sheep Creek Dam Lake	Grant	87 ac	1969	Recreation	Low
Tioga Dam Lake	Williams	82.5 ac	1963	Recreation	High
Armourdale Dam Lake	Towner	79.8 ac	1961	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Significant
Larimore Dam Lake	Grand Forks	72 ac	1979	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Bylin Dam Lake	Walsh	59.9 ac	1964	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Mcdowell Dam Lake	Burleigh	59.5 ac	1976	Recreation	Significant
Sprague Lake	Sargent	58 ac	1965	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Low
Warsing Dam Lake	Eddy	51 ac	1961	Recreation	Low
North Lemmon Lake	Adams	49.8 ac	1908	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Significant
Harmony Lake	Mercer	44.9 ac	1998	Recreation	Low
East Arroda Lake	Oliver	43.4 ac	1971	Recreation	Significant
Arroda Lake	Oliver	43.4 ac	1971	Recreation	Significant
Clausen Springs Lake	Barnes	42.7 ac	1967	Recreation	High
Baukol-Noonan Dam Lake	Divide	38 ac	1986	Recreation	Low
Mcleod Reservoir	Williams	38 ac	1890	Recreation	Low
Mcville Dam Lake	Nelson	33.4 ac	1910	Water Supply	Significant
Nygren Dam Lake	Morton	33.1 ac	1967	Recreation	Low
Moores Lake	Dickey	29.2 ac	1949	Recreation	Low
Kota Ray Dam Lake	Williams	27.7 ac	1933	Recreation	Low
Kulm-Edgeley Dam Lake	LaMoure	27 ac	1968	Recreation	Low
Arnegard Dam Lake	McKenzie	24.2 ac	1935	Recreation	Low
Balta Dam Lake	Pierce	18 ac	1937	Recreation	Low
Niagara Dam Lake	Grand Forks	16 ac	1935	Recreation	Low
Carlson-Tande Dam Lake	Griggs	15.79 ac	1967	Recreation	Low
Davis Dam Lake	Slope	15.3 ac	1963	Recreation	Low
Castle Rock Dam Lake	Hettinger	14.2 ac	1969	Recreation	Low
Custer Mine Pond	McLean	10.7 ac	1986	Fish and Wildlife Pond	Low
Kolding Dam Lake	Grand Forks	9.8 ac	1972	Flood Risk Reduction	Significant
Belfield Dam Lake	Stark	8.9 ac	1910	Recreation	Significant
Hurdsfield-Tuffy Lake	Wells	7 ac	1968	Recreation	Low
Velva Sportsmans Dam Lake	Ward	6.2 ac	1967	Recreation	Low
Kalina Dam Lake	Bowman	—	1940	Recreation	Low
Gascoyne Lake	Bowman	—	1934	Recreation	Low

Frequently Asked Questions

How many reservoirs are in North Dakota?

81 of 826 measured North Dakota lakes (10%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 44 are rated High or Significant hazard, meaning failure would put downstream lives or property at substantial risk. The oldest matched dam dates to 1890.

What's the largest reservoir in North Dakota?

The largest matched reservoir in North Dakota is Lake Audubon in McLean County at 19,095 acres of normal surface area, impounded by the Garrison Dam - Snake Creek Embankment (completed 1952).

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 Dakota 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.