Archibald Lake vs Machickanee Flowage Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Archibald Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Machickanee Flowage Lake. Both are in Oconto County, Wisconsin.
Archibald Lake and Machickanee Flowage Lake are both in Wisconsin — 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. The readings are close: Archibald Lake and Machickanee Flowage Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Archibald Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 17.8 ft down.
Machickanee Flowage Lake
Very murky, less than 3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Archibald Lake | Machickanee Flowage Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 17.8 ft Better | 3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 10.7 µg/L Better | 33.4 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 50 ft Better | 21 ft |
| Surface Area | 392 acres | 436 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 4 | 4 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | 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
Archibald Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Machickanee Flowage Lake. Water clarity: 17.8 ft vs 3 ft. For fishing diversity, Archibald Lake also leads with 4 species.
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Where to stay near Archibald Lake and Machickanee Flowage Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.