Lakes / California / Fresno County / Desolation Lake
Desolation Lake, California
216 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - California
37.27 degrees N, 118.71 degrees W - Fresno 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 Desolation Lake Stacks Up
- Larger than 71% of the 1,147 lakes counted in California.
- About 70 miles from Fresno, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mesa Lake | Fresno | 0.9 mi | 29 acres |
| Lower Desolation Lake | Fresno | 1.0 mi | 25 acres |
| Star Lake | Fresno | 1.1 mi | 37 acres |
| Little Lake | Fresno | 1.7 mi | 35 acres |
| Puppet Lake | Fresno | 1.8 mi | 50 acres |
| Steelhead Lake | Fresno | 1.9 mi | 57 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Questions About Desolation Lake
How Big Is Desolation Lake?
Desolation Lake covers 216 acres in Fresno County, California.
What Is the Largest Lake in Fresno County?
Pine Flat Lake is the largest lake in Fresno County, at 4,863 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 77254701). Verified October 30, 2026.