This U.S. State Has More Lakes Than Anywhere Else-With Over 3 Million to Explore

"Whenever I'm asked about my recent trip to Alaska-a journey to visit Katmai National Park & Preserve and Kenai Fjords National Park-I nearly always mention the scale. The scale of the glaciers, the mountains, the sunsets, and the utter wilderness; every aspect of the landscape was just so much larger and more grand than anything I'd ever experienced. Magnitude is a continuous theme all across Alaska."

"According to data compiled by World Population Review, Alaska boasts more than three million lakes-3,197 named natural lakes and 3 million unnamed natural lakes. For context, the state with the second-most lakes, Kansas, only has 120,000. (Editors' note: This number includes lakes and ponds created with dams and dikes.) Alaska's wealth of lakes can be attributed to a few factors, including erosion, tectonic processes, the thawing of permafrost, and volcanic and glacial activity."

"As I headed south from Anchorage toward Seward via the Alaska Railroad, we passed by the shockingly blue-green Kenai Lake. The 22-mile lake on the Kenai Peninsula is the headwaters of the Kenai River, a waterway known for trout and salmon fishing. In Katmai National Park & Preserve, which is doable as a day trip from Anchorage or King Salmon, you'll find Naknek Lake."

Alaska's landscape is defined by immense scale, with enormous glaciers, mountains, sunsets, and vast wilderness. The state is the largest in the U.S., contains seven of the ten largest national parks, hosts the most active volcanoes, and contains more than three million lakes, including 3,197 named lakes. The proliferation of lakes results from erosion, tectonics, permafrost thaw, volcanic activity, and glacial carving from the last ice age. Notable lakes include Kenai Lake, a 22-mile headwater of the Kenai River, and Naknek Lake, more than 150,000 acres and the largest lake fully within a U.S. national park.

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