Bad Medicine Lake vs North Tamarac Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bad Medicine Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than North Tamarac Lake (D, Nutrient-rich). Both are in Becker County, Minnesota.
Bad Medicine Lake and North Tamarac 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. The grades are meaningfully apart: Bad Medicine Lake grades a A while North Tamarac Lake grades a D. That two-letter spread reflects real underlying differences — different watershed inputs, different depth profiles, or different monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Bad Medicine Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Bad Medicine Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 25 ft down.
North Tamarac Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bad Medicine Lake | North Tamarac Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) Better | D (Nutrient-rich) |
| Water Clarity | 25 ft Better | 3.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | 6 µg/L Better | 36 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.6 µg/L Better | 21.4 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 84 ft Better | 17 ft |
| Surface Area | 803 acres | 1,442 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 13 Better | 12 |
| 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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Compare Bad Medicine Lake or North Tamarac Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Bad Medicine Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus North Tamarac Lake's Grade D. Water clarity: 25 ft vs 3.9 ft. For fishing diversity, Bad Medicine Lake also leads with 13 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.