The list of lakes, lochs, loughs and llyns of the United Kingdom is a link page for some large lakes of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), including lochs fully enclosed by land.

Lakes in Scotland are called lochs, and in Northern Ireland loughs (pronounced the same way, i.e. (/lɒç/)). In Wales a lake is called a llyn. The words "loch" and "lough", in addition to referring to bodies of freshwater ("lakes"), are also applied to bodies of brackish water or seawater, which in other countries or contexts may be called fjord, firth, estuary, bay etc. In particular, the term "sea-loch" is used in Scotland in this way, as the English language equivalent of 'fjord'. (There are many examples, including Loch Carron, Loch Torridon etc.)

Some of the largest lakes in England and Wales are man-made reservoirs or lakes whose size has been increased by damming.

Largest water bodies in the United Kingdom

This table includes the ten largest fresh water bodies by area. Lough Neagh is the largest water body in the UK by this measure, although Loch Ness is the largest by volume and contains nearly double the amount of water in all the lakes of England and Wales combined."Botanical survey of Scottish freshwater lochs" SNH Information and Advisory Note Number 4. Retrieved 1 January 2010. Loch Morar is the deepest of the UK's lakes and Loch Awe the longest. Murray and Pullar (1910) note that the mean depth of Loch Ness is 57.4% of the maximum depth – higher than in any other large deep loch in Scotland.Murray and Pullar (1910) Pages 381-85, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010. The deepest lake in England is Wast Water which descends to 76 metres (249 ft).

RankNameLocationArea (mi2)Area (km2)Volume (km3)Length (km)Max. depth (m)Mean depth (m)Source for all quantities is the same unless otherwise stated.1Lough NeaghNorthern Ireland"Lough Neagh" discoverireland.com. Retrieved 2 January 2010.2Lower Lough ErneNorthern Ireland"ECN Sites: Lough Erne" Environmental Change Network. Retrieved 2 January 2010.Gibson, C.E.; Foy, R.H.; and McNally, J. (2005) "Stratification and Oxygen Depletion in Lower Lough Erne 1991-2000" Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 105 No. 2, pp. 81-86."Lough Erne" Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 January 2010.3Loch LomondScotlandMurray and Pullar (1910) "Lochs of the Clyde Basin" Page 262, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.4Loch NessScotland5Loch AweScotlandMurray and Pullar (1910) Page 270, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.6Upper Lough ErneNorthern Ireland7Loch MareeScotlandMurray and Pullar (1910) Page 211, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.8Loch MorarScotlandMurray and Pullar (1910) Page 197, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.9Loch TayScotlandMurray and Pullar (1910) Page 80, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.10Loch ShinScotlandMurray and Pullar (1910) Pages 293-94, Volume II, Part II. National Library of Scotland. Retrieved 2 January 2010.

Largest natural lakes in England

RankLakeArea (km2)Area (mi2)1Windermere14.75.692Ullswater8.93.443=Bassenthwaite Lake5.32.063=Derwent Water5.32.065Coniston Water4.91.89

Largest natural lakes in Wales These are largely 'natural' but some have minor modifications to regulate their outflow. RankLakeArea (km2)Area (mi2)1Llyn Tegid (Bala Lake)4.81.872Llangorse Lake1.50.593Llyn Cowlyd1.10.424Llyn Padarn0.980.385Tal-y-llyn Lake0.890.346Llyn Cwellyn0.870.347Llyn Llywenan0.520.208Kenfig Pool0.280.11

Largest reservoirs in the United Kingdom

RankLakeArea (km2)Area (mi2) CountyCountry1Rutland Water12.64.86 RutlandEngland2Kielder Water11.04.25NorthumberlandEngland3Lake Vyrnwy8.23.18PowysWales4=Pitsford Water7.42.85NorthamptonshireEngland 4=Grafham Water7.42.85CambridgeshireEngland6Chew Valley Lake4.91.88SomersetEngland7Llyn Trawsfynydd4.81.84GwyneddWales8Clywedog Reservoir4.01.55PowysWales9Carron Valley3.91.51StirlingshireScotland10Haweswater3.91.50CumbriaEngland11=Derwent Reservoir3.71.44County Durham & NorthumberlandEngland11=Llyn Brenig3.71.44Conwy & DenbighshireWales13Colliford Lake3.61.4CornwallEngland14=Thirlmere3.21.25CumbriaEngland14=Llyn Celyn3.21.25GwyneddWales

See also

List of lakes in England List of Irish loughs List of lochs in Scotland List of lakes in Wales List of lakes in the Lake District Geography of the United Kingdom

Notes

References

Murray, Sir John and Pullar, Laurence (1910) Bathymetrical Survey of the Fresh-Water Lochs of Scotland, 1897-1909. London; Challenger Office.