Balsam Lake vs Pokegama Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pokegama Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Balsam Lake (B, Good). Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Balsam Lake and Pokegama 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 — Balsam Lake (B) versus Pokegama 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.
Balsam Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.5 ft.
Pokegama Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Balsam Lake | Pokegama Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 10.5 ft | 16 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 12 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 103 acres | 13.0K acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Pokegama Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Balsam Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 16 ft vs 10.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Pokegama Lake also leads with 1 species.