Derwent Water, lake, administrative county of Cumbria, historic county of Cumberland, England, in the Lake District National Park. It is about 3 miles (5 km) long and from 0.5 to 1.25 miles (0.8 to 2 km) wide, and its maximum depth is 72 feet (22 metres). The River Derwent enters its southern end from Borrowdale, its mountain-girded upper valley, and leaves the lake’s northern end near the market town of Keswick, at the foot of Skiddaw. Several sites on the well-wooded shores are the property of the National Trust and are frequented by tourists. Lords Island, one of several in the lake, was once the residence of the earls of Derwentwater.