Kaw Lake is a reservoir completed in 1976 in the northern reaches of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, near Kaw City which is located on a hill overlooking the lake. The lake is approximately 8 miles (13 km) east of Ponca City. Newkirk is 6 miles (9.7 km) west of the upper end of the lake.
Kaw Dam is 9,466 feet (2,885 m) long and 121 feet (37 m) above the stream bed. The dam lies 654 miles (1,053 km) above the mouth of the Arkansas River. The top of the flood control pool is 1,044.5 feet (318.4 m), while the normal operating level is 1,010 feet.
The Reservoir covers approximately 17,040 acres (69 km²). It is the seventh largest lake in Oklahoma by surface area. At normal levels, the lake holds 428,600 acre-feet (528,700,000 m3) of water, the ninth largest lake in capacity in Oklahoma.
It lies mostly in Kay County and partially in Osage County.
