Flathead Lake (Salish: člq̓etkʷ ) is the largest natural freshwater lake by surface area that is west of the Mississippi River in the contiguous United States, taking Red Lake (Minnesota) and Lake of the Woods to be north of the Mississippi River, rather than west of the river. With a surface area of between and , Flathead Lake is slightly larger in surface area than Lake Tahoe, but it is much smaller in volume.