The deepest lake in Minnesota by the DNR’s measured maximum depth is Mahnomen, Alstead & Arco Mine in Crow Wing County, at 525 ft. It is a mine-pit lake: the DNR map classes it as a mine pit, and our count of Minnesota’s lakes includes that class. The deepest lake in the map’s lake-or-pond class is Rabbit Lake in Crow Wing County, at 337 ft (the figure is for its east portion). The deepest border water is Saganaga Lake, shared with Canada, at 280 ft.
Every depth here was measured in a DNR lake survey and is published in LakeFinder. Nothing is estimated, and a lake without a measured maximum depth is not ranked. 3,604 of Minnesota’s 14,174 lakes of 10 acres or more have one. Five of the ten below are mine-pit lakes, the ones named Mine.
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026: maximum depth from Minnesota DNR lake surveys. Lake classes: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, hydrography (lake, pond, reservoir and mine-pit lake classes), via the Metropolitan Council’s data mirror. Fetched 26 Oct 2026.
The 25 deepest, in order. Eight of them are mine-pit lakes, all in Crow Wing and St. Louis counties; nine are border waters, counted with their Minnesota part, though the deepest point the DNR measured may lie on either side of the line. 3 of the 25 have a lake page on this site, linked by name.
| Lake | Deepest, ft | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| Mahnomen, Alstead & Arco Mine Crow Wing County · mine pit | 525 | 272 |
| Portsmouth Mine Crow Wing County · mine pit | 395 | 149 |
| Rabbit Lake Crow Wing County | 337 | 1,206 |
| Saganaga Lake Cook County · border | 280 | 6,985 |
| Morroco Mine Crow Wing County · mine pit | 265 | 81 |
| Pennington Mine Crow Wing County · mine pit | 259 | 62 |
| Huntington Mine Crow Wing County · mine pit | 258 | 106 |
| LaSalle Lake Hubbard County | 213 | 238 |
| Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods County · border | 210 | 305,576 |
| Mountain Lake Cook County · border | 210 | 847 |
| Sagamore Mine Crow Wing County · mine pit | 210 | 119 |
| Gabimichigami Lake Cook County | 209 | 1,186 |
| Ten Mile Lake Cass County | 208 | 5,080 |
| Loon Lake Cook County | 202 | 1,095 |
| Gunflint Lake Cook County · border | 200 | 2,166 |
| Kekekabic Lake Lake County | 195 | 1,689 |
| Sand Point Lake St. Louis County · border | 184 | 4,855 |
| Little Knife Lake Lake County · border | 184 | 434 |
| Gillis Lake Cook County | 180 | 616 |
| Knife Lake Lake County · border | 179 | 3,712 |
| Larson Lake Itasca County | 177 | 208 |
| Miller Pit West St. Louis County · mine pit | 174 | 19 |
| Unnamed lake (DNR 18066700) Crow Wing County · mine pit | 172 | 19 |
| Lac la Croix St. Louis County · border | 168 | 13,662 |
| Crooked Lake Lake County · border | 165 | 5,230 |
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026. Acres: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, hydrography (lake, pond, reservoir and mine-pit lake classes), via the Metropolitan Council’s data mirror. Fetched 26 Oct 2026. Border waters: Minnesota part.
Leave out the mine pits and reservoirs and the list is lakes in the DNR map’s lake-or-pond class. Rabbit Lake leads at 337 ft (the figure is for its east portion); the DNR’s survey contours there reach 300 ft. Then come Saganaga Lake (280 ft, border), LaSalle Lake (213 ft), Lake of the Woods (210 ft, border) and Mountain Lake (210 ft, border).
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026. Lake classes: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, hydrography (lake, pond, reservoir and mine-pit lake classes), via the Metropolitan Council’s data mirror. Fetched 26 Oct 2026.
Minnesota’s deepest measured waters are mine pits, and the DNR map files them in two classes. Pits in the mine-pit lake class are lakes in our count of Minnesota’s lakes, and they rank above. The map files 16 other pits that LakeFinder has measured, in Itasca and St. Louis counties, in a class it calls natural ore mine. Our count leaves that class out, as it leaves out wetlands and river pools, so they are not ranked. The deepest are Sabin (Embarrass Mine) in St. Louis County at 465 ft, Gilbert Pit in St. Louis County at 443 ft, St James Pit in St. Louis County at 381 ft and Canisteo Pit in Itasca County at 311 ft. Nine of them would make the top ten above if they were counted; none is deeper than Mahnomen, Alstead & Arco Mine.
Sabin (Embarrass Mine) 465 · Gilbert Pit 443 · St James Pit 381 · Canisteo Pit 311 · Greenway Pit 295 · Canton Pit 286 · Lind Pit 284 · Iron Chief Complex 262 · Tioga Mine Pit 225 · Kinney 160 · Burns Pit 95 · Mott Pit 80 ft
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026: maximum depth. Class: Minnesota DNR hydrography (natural ore mine), via the Metropolitan Council’s data mirror, fetched 26 Oct 2026.
The middle measured lake reaches 29 ft at its deepest. 816 lakes reach 50 ft or more, 132 reach 100 ft or more and 15 reach 200 ft or more. Cook County has the most lakes of 100 ft or more, 26, then Lake (19), Itasca (17) and Crow Wing (15).
The deepest measured lake in each county, with the number of its lakes that have a measured depth. Chippewa, Dodge, Fillmore, Lac qui Parle, Norman, Red Lake, Wabasha and Wilkin have no lake of 10 acres or more with one.
| County | Deepest lake | Ft |
|---|---|---|
| Aitkin 108 measured | Round Lake | 125 |
| Anoka 23 measured | East Twin Lake | 68 |
| Becker 85 measured | White Earth Lake | 120 |
| Beltrami 76 measured | Benjamin Lake | 128 |
| Benton 2 measured | Mayhew Lake | 20 |
| Big Stone 16 measured | Munnwyler Lake | 22 |
| Blue Earth 11 measured | Madison Lake | 59 |
| Brown 4 measured | Wellner-Hageman Reservoir | 24 |
| Carlton 34 measured | Hanging Horn Lake | 80 |
| Carver 35 measured | Lake Auburn | 84 |
| Cass 210 measured | Ten Mile Lake | 208 |
| Chisago 26 measured | South Center Lake | 109 |
| Clay 5 measured | Silver Lake | 39 |
| Clearwater 38 measured | Elk Lake | 93 |
| Cook 385 measured | Saganaga Lake | 280 |
| Cottonwood 11 measured | Shoper-Bush Reservoir | 15 |
| Crow Wing 197 measured | Mahnomen, Alstead & Arco Mine mine pit | 525 |
| Dakota 26 measured | Holland Lake | 55 |
| Douglas 58 measured | Lake Carlos | 163 |
| Faribault 2 measured | Bass Lake | 20 |
| Freeborn 9 measured | Fountain Lake | 14 |
| Goodhue 1 measured | Frontenac Lake | 8 |
| Grant 9 measured | Elk Lake | 29 |
| Hennepin 74 measured | Lake Minnetonka | 113 |
| Houston 1 measured | South Fork Lake | 15 |
| Hubbard 100 measured | LaSalle Lake | 213 |
| Isanti 19 measured | Spectacle Lake | 52 |
| Itasca 363 measured | Larson Lake | 177 |
| Jackson 12 measured | Fish Lake | 26 |
| Kanabec 12 measured | Lewis Lake | 48 |
| Kandiyohi 33 measured | Green Lake | 110 |
| Kittson 1 measured | Lake Bronson | 29 |
| Koochiching 10 measured | Teufer Lake | 52 |
| Lake 353 measured | Kekekabic Lake | 195 |
| Lake of the Woods 1 measured | Lake of the Woods | 210 |
| Le Sueur 21 measured | Lake Volney | 67 |
| Lincoln 14 measured | Perch Lake | 16 |
| Lyon 13 measured | East Twin Lake | 22 |
| Mahnomen 13 measured | Tulaby Lake | 43 |
| Marshall 1 measured | Unnamed lake (DNR 45011900) | 23 |
| Martin 20 measured | Hall Lake | 27 |
| McLeod 13 measured | Stahl's Lake | 37 |
| Meeker 33 measured | Lake Stella | 75 |
| Mille Lacs 5 measured | Mille Lacs Lake | 42 |
| Morrison 24 measured | Cedar Lake | 88 |
| Mower 5 measured | Ramsey Mill Pond | 18 |
| Murray 13 measured | Lake Shetek | 10 |
| Nicollet 1 measured | Unnamed lake (DNR 52000100) | 35 |
| Nobles 7 measured | Okabena Lake | 16 |
| Olmsted 7 measured | Zumbro Lake | 43 |
| Otter Tail 146 measured | Six Lake | 140 |
| Pennington 1 measured | Red Lake River Reservoir | 18 |
| Pine 50 measured | Grindstone Lake | 153 |
| Pipestone 1 measured | Split Rock Reservoir | 16 |
| Polk 19 measured | Unnamed lake (DNR 60002200) | 84 |
| Pope 19 measured | Amelia Lake | 69 |
| Ramsey 34 measured | Lake Phalen | 91 |
| Redwood 2 measured | Lake Redwood | 21 |
| Renville 2 measured | Lake Allie | 12 |
| Rice 17 measured | Kelly & Dudley Lake | 60 |
| Rock 1 measured | South Mound Springs Lake | 8 |
| Roseau 1 measured | Hayes Lake | 28 |
| Scott 24 measured | Unnamed lake (DNR 70015300) | 70 |
| Sherburne 22 measured | Big Lake | 48 |
| Sibley 4 measured | Silver Lake | 8 |
| St. Louis 428 measured | Sand Point Lake | 184 |
| Stearns 77 measured | Lake Koronis | 132 |
| Steele 2 measured | Beaver Lake | 27 |
| Stevens 5 measured | Lake Charlotte | 20 |
| Swift 5 measured | Lake Oliver | 32 |
| Todd 45 measured | Little Birch Lake | 89 |
| Traverse 2 measured | Traverse Lake | 12 |
| Wadena 4 measured | Spirit Lake | 45 |
| Waseca 7 measured | Reeds Lake | 58 |
| Washington 41 measured | Lake Elmo | 140 |
| Watonwan 6 measured | St. James Lake | 15 |
| Winona 2 measured | Lake Winona | 38 |
| Wright 91 measured | Cedar Lake | 108 |
| Yellow Medicine 6 measured | Del Clark Lake | 30 |
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026. Counties as the DNR lists each lake; lakes of 10 acres or more.
180 lakes of 10 acres or more have DNR survey contours but no measured maximum depth in LakeFinder. A contour is a line of equal depth, so the deepest one can sit above the bottom by an unknown amount, and those lakes are not ranked. The deepest contour among them is 140 ft, in Yawkey Mine; none of them has a contour deeper than the 25th lake above.
Lake Superior is left out, as it is in our count of Minnesota’s lakes. Lakes are counted by that count’s rule: the DNR map’s lake-or-pond, reservoir and mine-pit lake classes, one lake per DNR lake number, 10 acres or more. A lake the DNR surveys in basins takes its deepest basin’s figure, as its lake page does. How we read every kind of figure is on How we measure.
Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, fetched 26 Oct 2026; Minnesota DNR lake bathymetric contours (deepest line per lake), via the Metropolitan Council’s data mirror. Minnesota DNR data used under the DNR General Data and Software License. Not for navigation.