Lake Lanao (Maranao: Ranao or Ranaw) is a large ancient lake in the province of Lanao del Sur, Philippines. With a surface area of , it is the largest lake in Mindanao, the deepest and second largest lake in the Philippines and counted as one of the 15 ancient lakes in the world. Scholars have been pushing for the lake's inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The lake's native people call themselves the Maranao or Meranaw. Their name was derived from the name of the lake, meaning "the people living around the lake".
In 1965, Lake Lanao was renamed to Lake Sultan Alonto by Republic Act No. 4260, which was later repealed by Republic Act No. 6434 in 1972.
The lake has great hydroelectric potential due to its 700 meter elevation, and as such, in 1950, the Philippines National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) began the construction of a series of hydroelectric plants titled Agus I – Agus VII along the Agus River system, which generates 70% of the electricity used by the people of Mindanao. In 1978, the Marawi Lake Regulation Dam (MLRD) was constructed at the mouth of the Agus, and five power plants were commissioned shortly afterwards (Agus I, II, IV, V, and VII). Notably, Agus I is not located on the river, but directly on the shoreline of the lake, in the heart of Marawi City. While the MLRD does not affect the function of the four downstream dams, the construction of Agus I effectively turned the lake into a reservoir, sparking significant backlash among the Maranao. In October 1990, the Maranao publicly demonstrated as Agus I was finishing construction, leading to the birth of the Save Lake Lanao Movement (SALAM), which intended to obstruct NAPOCOR's progress in building Agus I. SALAM contended that the dam would act as an artificial, alternative outlet to the Agus that is deeply unnatural and would result in a 9 meter fluctuation of the lake level. Conflict between SALAM and NAPOCOR resulted in the creation of the Task Force on Agus 1 by Aquilino Pimentel Jr., which subsequently delayed the commission date of the plant to January 14, 1992.