Lakes / Nebraska / Buffalo County / Cottonmill Reservoir
Cottonmill Reservoir, Nebraska
45 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - Nebraska
40.71 degrees N, 99.15 degrees W - Buffalo 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 Cottonmill Reservoir Stacks Up
- Larger than 32% of the 660 lakes counted in Nebraska.
- The largest lake in Buffalo County among those counted.
- About 3 miles from Kearney, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Hole East Lake | Buffalo | 11 mi | 25 acres |
| Box Elder Creek Reservoir 5-A | Buffalo | 19 mi | 28 acres |
| Moses Hill Lagoon | Phelps | 21 mi | 52 acres |
| Thirty-Two Mile Creek Reservoir | Adams | 29 mi | 77 acres |
| Shurigar Brothers Lake | Adams | 29 mi | 25 acres |
| Roseland Lake | Adams | 31 mi | 46 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Cottonmill Reservoir
How Big Is Cottonmill Reservoir?
Cottonmill Reservoir covers 45 acres in Buffalo County, Nebraska.
What Is the Largest Lake in Buffalo County?
Cottonmill Reservoir is the largest lake in Buffalo County, at 45 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 150663968). Verified October 30, 2026.