Bad Medicine Lake vs North Tamarac Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bad Medicine Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than North Tamarac Lake. 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 readings are meaningfully apart: Bad Medicine Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than North Tamarac 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: Bad Medicine 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?
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 |
|---|---|---|
| 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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Verdict
Bad Medicine Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than North Tamarac Lake. Water clarity: 25 ft vs 3.9 ft. For fishing diversity, Bad Medicine Lake also leads with 13 species.
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Where to stay near Bad Medicine Lake and North Tamarac Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.