Lakes / California / San Mateo County / Central Lake
Central Lake, California
239 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - California
37.55 degrees N, 122.26 degrees W - San Mateo County. State and county outlines drawn from Census boundary data; the lake marker is placed by its USGS National Hydrography Dataset coordinates, not by eye. Schematic - not a survey map.
How Central Lake Stacks Up
- Larger than 72% of the 1,147 lakes counted in California.
- About 17 miles from San Francisco, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir | San Mateo | 5.6 mi | 595 acres |
| Lower Crystal Springs Reservoir | San Mateo | 6.0 mi | 586 acres |
| Pilarcitos Lake | San Mateo | 8.9 mi | 89 acres |
| San Andreas Lake | San Mateo | 9.3 mi | 486 acres |
| Lake Chabot | Alameda | 15 mi | 292 acres |
| Lake Elizabeth | Alameda | 17 mi | 78 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Central Lake
How Big Is Central Lake?
Central Lake covers 239 acres in San Mateo County, California.
What Is the Largest Lake in San Mateo County?
Upper Crystal Springs Reservoir is the largest lake in San Mateo County, at 595 acres.
Largest Lakes in California
| # | Lake | County | Surface Area | Max Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salton Sea | Imperial | 233,096 acres | - |
| 2 | Lake Tahoe | Placer | 122,975 acres | - |
| 3 | Goose Lake | Modoc | 93,048 acres | - |
| 4 | Honey Lake | Lassen | 59,917 acres | - |
| 5 | Mono Lake | Mono | 45,124 acres | - |
All 1,147 California lakes ranked by surface area
Sources: USGS NHD (The National Map NHD MapServer layer 12) named waterbodies FTYPE 390/436; counties via Census point-in-polygon lake data (ID 56657143). Verified October 30, 2026.