Maryland is known for its waterways, from the Chesapeake Bay to countless rivers and streams, but there’s one distinction that surprises many people… it is the only state in the United States without any natural lakes.
According to the Maryland Geological Survey, every lake in the state was created by people by damming rivers or streams. While many bodies of water carry the word “lake” in their names, including Deep Creek Lake and Lake Habeeb, they are all manmade.
The state wasn’t always without natural lakes. During the late Pleistocene, roughly 19,000 to 14,000 years ago, a 160-acre shallow periglacial lake known as Buckel’s Bog existed in what is now Garrett County. Scientists say it formed under conditions associated with the Ice Age and eventually disappeared.
So why doesn’t Maryland have any natural lakes today? The Geological Survey explains that lakes form in several different ways, and none of those natural processes occurred in Maryland in a way that created permanent lakes. About 74% of the world’s lakes are glacial, but glaciers never reached Maryland during the last Ice Age. Other natural lakes are formed by volcanic activity, faulting, landslides, or similar geologic events that have not shaped Maryland’s landscape.
The agency also notes that there is no strict rule for why some manmade bodies of water are called lakes while others are called reservoirs. Generally, those built primarily for recreation are more likely to be named lakes, while those created for drinking water, hydroelectric power, or flood control are typically called reservoirs.
Among Maryland’s largest manmade bodies of water are Conowingo Reservoir, Deep Creek Lake, Liberty Reservoir, Youghiogheny River Reservoir, Loch Raven Reservoir, Prettyboy Reservoir, Jennings Randolph Lake, Triadelphia Reservoir in Montgomery County, and Rocky Gorge Reservoir in Montgomery County.
While Maryland may not have any natural lakes, its reservoirs and recreational lakes continue to provide opportunities for boating, fishing, swimming, hiking, and public water supply across the state.
