Chile's largest lake is General Carrera, in the Aysén Region, with 951.2 km² within Chilean territory, followed by Lake Llanquihue (864.1 km²), the largest lake lying entirely inside the country. O'Higgins (499.2 km²) completes the podium, with Ranco (424.6 km²) in fourth place, according to the lake inventory of Chile's General Water Directorate (DGA), which lists 2,067 lakes, lagoons and reservoirs.
*Updated on October 22, 2026.* The data come from the DGA lake layer of the Ministry of Public Works, published on the Ministry of the Environment's SIMBIO viewer, accessed on October 22, 2026. The area is that of each lake's polygon within Chile.
Ranking of the largest lakes in Chile
| # | Lake | Region | Area within Chile (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Carrera | Aysén | 951.2 |
| 2 | Llanquihue | Los Lagos | 864.1 |
| 3 | O'Higgins | Aysén | 499.2 |
| 4 | Ranco | Los Ríos | 424.6 |
| 5 | Presidente Ríos | Aysén | 311.2 |
| 6 | Rupanco | Los Lagos | 230.2 |
| 7 | Del Toro | Magallanes | 195.4 |
| 8 | Cochrane | Aysén | 178.3 |
| 9 | Villarrica | Araucanía | 175.0 |
| 10 | Todos los Santos | Los Lagos | 172.0 |
| 11 | Puyehue | Los Lagos | 155.6 |
| 12 | Blanco | Magallanes | 147.1 |
| 13 | Laguna San Rafael | Aysén | 118.8 |
| 14 | Yelcho | Los Lagos | 118.2 |
| 15 | Laguna del Laja | Biobío | 115.6 |
Source: DGA (Ministry of Public Works), lake inventory, polygon area field in km², via SIMBIO-MMA. An unnamed lake (code NN75) of 107.6 km² in the municipality of Punta Arenas is excluded. Regions follow the current division; the inventory uses the old numbering.
The lakes shared with Argentina
Three of the top eight cross the border, and in those cases the whole lake is much larger than its Chilean part. Besides the polygon, the DGA inventory includes a field with the total lake area, which shows the difference:
| Lake (name in Argentina) | Area within Chile (km²) | Total lake area (km²) |
|---|---|---|
| General Carrera (Buenos Aires) | 951.2 | 1,840 |
| O'Higgins (San Martín) | 499.2 | 1,058.8 |
| Cochrane (Pueyrredón) | 178.3 | 320 |
Source: DGA, lake inventory (polygon and lake area fields). General Carrera is the second largest lake in South America after Titicaca, and O'Higgins is the deepest in the Americas, as detailed in our natural records of Chile.
Where Chile's largest lakes are
- Aysén has four of the top ten: General Carrera, O'Higgins, Presidente Ríos and Cochrane. General Carrera is reached via the Carretera Austral, and the Marble Caves are on its shore.
- Los Lagos and Los Ríos have the most accessible ones: Llanquihue, with Puerto Varas and Frutillar on its shore; Todos los Santos, inside Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park; and Ranco.
- Araucanía: Villarrica, in front of Pucón, is the most visited lake in the ranking.
- Magallanes: Del Toro lies in the municipality of Torres del Paine, and Blanco on Tierra del Fuego.
Is your hotel, cabin or tour operator next to a southern lake? Reach travellers planning their route.
See advertising optionsLlanquihue, the largest lake entirely within Chile
Counting only lakes that lie entirely in Chilean territory, the largest is Llanquihue, with 864.1 km². From its shore you can see the Osorno and Calbuco volcanoes, and it is surrounded by towns such as Puerto Varas, Frutillar and Llanquihue. To explore it, see our guides on what to do in Puerto Varas and what to do in Frutillar.
How this ranking was measured
The ranking orders the water bodies in the DGA inventory by the area of their polygon within Chile, the AREA_KM2 field of the official layer. It is not the only way to measure: other sources publish the total area of binational lakes or figures from different years, because water levels change with the seasons and with drought. That is why the same lake can appear with different figures depending on the source. Here we use a single official source for every lake, so the comparison is consistent.
Other records of Chile's lakes
| Record | Lake | Figure (DGA) |
|---|---|---|
| Largest reservoir in the inventory | Rapel Reservoir (O'Higgins Region) | 72.8 km² |
| Highest lake over 5 km² (among those with recorded altitude) | Lake Chungará (Arica y Parinacota) | 22.2 km², at 4,517 m above sea level |
| Total water bodies inventoried | Lakes, lagoons and reservoirs | 2,067 |
Source: DGA, lake inventory via SIMBIO-MMA, accessed on October 22, 2026. For ice, see our ranking of Chile's largest glaciers, based on the DGA's public glacier inventory.
How to cite this data
Viajando Chile (2026). *Chile's 10 largest lakes according to the official DGA inventory*. With data from the General Water Directorate (Ministry of Public Works). https://viajandochile.com/en/news/largest-lakes-in-chile-dga-ranking
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest lake in Chile?
General Carrera, with 951.2 km² within Chile and about 1,840 km² in total, including the Argentine part.
What is the largest lake entirely within Chile?
Llanquihue, in the Los Lagos Region, with 864.1 km².
How many lakes does Chile have?
The DGA inventory lists 2,067 water bodies, including lakes, lagoons and reservoirs.
