Bass Lake vs Tulaby Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Bass Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Tulaby Lake. Both are in Mahnomen County, Minnesota.
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 readings are meaningfully apart: Bass Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Tulaby 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: Bass 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?
Bass Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13.1 ft.
Tulaby Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.8 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Bass Lake | Tulaby Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 13.1 ft Better | 7.8 ft |
| Phosphorus | 10 µg/L Better | 23 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.9 µg/L Better | 10.2 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 26 ft | 43 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 735 acres | 832 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 13 | 16 Better |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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 Bass Lake or Tulaby Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Bass Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Tulaby Lake. 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.