Lakes / California / Inyo County / Owens Lake
Owens Lake, Inyo County, California
17,272 acres
Surface Area
Where It Sits, and How Deep It Goes
Locator - California
36.45 degrees N, 117.97 degrees W - Inyo 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 Owens Lake Stacks Up
- Larger than 99% of the 1,147 lakes counted in California.
- The largest lake in Inyo County among those counted.
- About 103 miles from Fresno, as the crow flies.
Lakes Nearby
| Lake | County | Distance | Surface Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owens Lake | Inyo | 3.2 mi | 344 acres |
| Owens Lake | Inyo | 3.2 mi | 163 acres |
| Owens Lake | Inyo | 3.3 mi | 152 acres |
| Owens Lake | Inyo | 3.4 mi | 199 acres |
| Owens Lake | Inyo | 3.4 mi | 45 acres |
| Owens Lake | Inyo | 3.4 mi | 131 acres |
Straight-line distance between lake centers.
Facts and Figures
Waterbody ID{75606001-C66E-429C-B66E-5E1F88B83360}
CountyInyo
Lake TypeLake
Coordinates36.4487, -117.9705
Questions About Owens Lake
How Big Is Owens Lake?
Owens Lake covers 17,272 acres in Inyo County, California.
What Is the Largest Lake in Inyo County?
Owens Lake is the largest lake in Inyo County, at 17,272 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 {75606001-C66E-429C-B66E-5E1F88B83360}). Verified October 30, 2026.