Lakes / Illinois / McHenry County / Defiance Lake
Defiance Lake, Illinois
66.22 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - Illinois
42.32 degrees N, 88.23 degrees W - McHenry 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 Defiance Lake Stacks Up
- Larger than 47% of the 511 lakes counted in Illinois.
- About 43 miles from Chicago, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lily Lake | McHenry | 1.2 mi | 95.88 acres |
| Griswold Lake | McHenry | 2.1 mi | 153.45 acres |
| Sullivan Lake | Lake | 2.5 mi | 57.33 acres |
| Island Lake | Lake | 3.2 mi | 80.31 acres |
| Fish Lake | Lake | 3.8 mi | 95.14 acres |
| Brandenburg Lake | Lake | 3.9 mi | 74.87 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Defiance Lake
How Big Is Defiance Lake?
Defiance Lake covers 66.22 acres in McHenry County, Illinois.
What Is the Largest Lake in McHenry County?
Pistakee Lake is the largest lake in McHenry County, at 1,743.58 acres.
Largest Lakes in Illinois
| # | Lake | County | Surface Area | Max Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlyle Lake | Clinton | 22,796.77 acres | - |
| 2 | Mine Number 21 Reservoir | Franklin | 17,062.04 acres | - |
| 3 | Upper Peoria Lake | Woodford | 15,460.64 acres | - |
| 4 | Lake Shelbyville | Shelby | 10,235.1 acres | - |
| 5 | Crab Orchard Lake | Williamson | 7,292.57 acres | - |
All 511 Illinois lakes ranked by surface area
Sources: USGS National Hydrography Dataset (The National Map) lake data (ID 121626377). Verified October 30, 2026.