Ames Lake vs Shallow Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Ames Lake and Shallow Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Ames Lake and Shallow Lake are both in Minnesota — a same-state head-to-head where the comparison comes down to lake-specific differences in depth, watershed, and monitoring history rather than the broader state-level water-quality regime. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Ames Lake (A) versus Shallow Lake (A). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
With grades this close, the choice between the two lakes turns on non-water-quality factors: depth, fish species, public access, distance from home. The per-lake pages below cover all of those.
Ames Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10 ft.
Shallow Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Ames Lake | Shallow Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 10 ft | 16.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | 15 µg/L | 9 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.3 µg/L | 3.2 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 51 ft | 85 ft |
| Surface Area | 564 acres | 539 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 13 | 12 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Ames Lake: 10 ft, Shallow Lake: 16.4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Ames Lake supports more documented fish species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.