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LakeQuality

Bass Lake vs Tulaby Lake

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Bass Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Tulaby Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Mahnomen County, Minnesota.

Reviewed by LakeQuality Editorial Team · Updated

Bass Lake and Tulaby 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: Bass Lake grades a A while Tulaby Lake grades a C. 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 — Bass 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?

A

Bass Lake

Mahnomen County, Minnesota

Good clarity, visible to about 13.1 ft.

C

Tulaby Lake

Mahnomen County, Minnesota

Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.8 ft.

Side-by-Side Metrics

MetricBass LakeTulaby Lake
Overall GradeA (Excellent)C (Fair)
Water Clarity13.1 ft7.8 ft
Phosphorus10 µg/L23 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)4.9 µg/L10.2 µg/L
Maximum Depth26 ft43 ft
Surface Area735 acres832 acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species1316
Trophic Statemesotrophiceutrophic

Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).

Verdict

Bass Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Tulaby Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 13.1 ft vs 7.8 ft. For more fish-species variety, Tulaby Lake edges ahead with 16 documented species.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.