Lakes / North Carolina / Burke County / Lake James
Lake James, North Carolina
5,965.05 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - North Carolina
35.75 degrees N, 81.89 degrees W - Burke 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 Lake James Stacks Up
- Ranks #10 for surface area among the North Carolina lakes counted so far - 5,965.05 acres.
- About 39 miles from Asheville, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Tahoma | McDowell | 11 mi | 166.45 acres |
| Muddy Creek B S A Lake | McDowell | 11 mi | 77.55 acres |
| Land Harbors Lake | Avery | 20 mi | 47.67 acres |
| Rhodhiss Lake | Caldwell | 21 mi | 2,122.39 acres |
| Grandmother Lake | Avery | 23 mi | 38.06 acres |
| Bald Mountain Lake | Rutherford | 25 mi | 34.1 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Largest Lakes in North Carolina
| # | Lake | County | Surface Area | Max Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Norman | Iredell | 30,797.52 acres | - |
| 2 | Lake Mattamuskeet | Hyde | 26,110.39 acres | - |
| 3 | Lake Gaston | Warren | 18,986.78 acres | - |
| 4 | Phelps Lake | Washington | 15,941.02 acres | - |
| 5 | B Everett Jordan Lake | Chatham | 13,118.99 acres | - |
All 295 North Carolina lakes ranked by surface area
Sources: USGS National Hydrography Dataset (The National Map) lake data (ID 141327590). Verified October 30, 2026.