Ames Lake vs Dora Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Ames Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Dora Lake. Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Both Ames Lake and Dora Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. The readings are meaningfully apart: Ames Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Dora Lake. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Ames Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Ames Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft.
Dora Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Ames Lake | Dora Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 10 ft Better | 7.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 15 µg/L Better | 27 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.3 µg/L Better | 8.1 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 51 ft Better | 18 ft |
| Surface Area | 564 acres | 423 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 13 | 13 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
A green ✓ marks the better value for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better). Surface area and trophic state carry no tick — a bigger lake is not a better lake.
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Verdict
Ames Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Dora Lake. Water clarity: 10 ft vs 7.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Ames Lake also leads with 13 species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.