How Deep Are North Dakota’s Deepest Lakes?

North Dakota has some surprisingly large lakes, including some of the largest artificial reservoirs in the country. We took a look at both natural and man made bodies of water.

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What Is the Deepest Lake in North Dakota?

Lake Sakakawea is the deepest lake in North Dakota. The lake's lowest point is 180 feet deep.

The 360,000-acre Lake Sakakawea was created by the construction of the Garrison Dam on the Missouri River.

It isn't the state's deepest lake—that title belongs to Lake Oahe—but Oahe's lowest point is 205 feet deep and is located in the South Dakota portion of the lake.

Beginning at the Oahe Dam and extending north to Bismarck, Lake Oahe is a body of water that spans both North and South Dakota.

What Is the Deepest Naturally Forming Lake In North Dakota? 

Stump Lake in nearby Nelson County is the deepest naturally forming lake in the state which officially bottoms out at 73 feet according to Wikipedia.

How Does the Deepest Lake in North Dakota Compare to the Deepest Lake in the U.S.?

180 feet is the depth of North Dakota's deepest lake, where most lakes are closer to reaching their maximum depth of twenty feet, that is a really deep lake. It doesn't appear as remarkable, though, when compared to the United States' deepest lake.

Situated in southern Oregon, Crater Lake originated at the summit of a long-extinct volcano and plunges to a depth of 1,943 feet, to make it the deepest lake in the nation.

While Crater Lake is almost spherical with two islands springing out, Lake Sakakawea is a long lake formed along the Missouri River. Even in the summer, the surface temperatures hardly ever rise beyond sixty degrees.