Lakes / Nebraska / Cherry County / Cotton Lake
Cotton Lake, Nebraska
69 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - Nebraska
42.36 degrees N, 101.55 degrees W - Cherry 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 Cotton Lake Stacks Up
- Larger than 53% of the 660 lakes counted in Nebraska.
- About 95 miles from North Platte, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bray Lake | Cherry | 1.1 mi | 38 acres |
| Murphy Lake | Cherry | 3.3 mi | 95 acres |
| Hill Lake | Cherry | 4.5 mi | 104 acres |
| Round Lake | Cherry | 4.7 mi | 309 acres |
| Red Willow Lake | Cherry | 5.1 mi | 115 acres |
| Spring Lake | Cherry | 6.0 mi | 112 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Cotton Lake
How Big Is Cotton Lake?
Cotton Lake covers 69 acres in Cherry County, Nebraska.
What Is the Largest Lake in Cherry County?
Merritt Reservoir is the largest lake in Cherry County, at 2,544 acres.
Largest Lakes in Nebraska
| # | Lake | County | Surface Area | Max Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake McConaughy | Keith | 24,885 acres | - |
| 2 | Harlan County Lake | Harlan | 12,822 acres | - |
| 3 | Calamus Reservoir | Loup | 5,032 acres | - |
| 4 | Swanson Lake | Hitchcock | 4,661 acres | - |
| 5 | Sutherland Reservoir | Lincoln | 2,956 acres | - |
All 660 Nebraska 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 153982286). Verified October 30, 2026.