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LakeQuality

Basswood Lake vs Wind Lake

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

Basswood Lake and Wind Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of C (Fair). Both are in Lake County, Minnesota.

Both Basswood Lake and Wind Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are close: Basswood Lake (C) and Wind Lake (C) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.

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.

C

Basswood Lake

Lake County, Minnesota

Moderate clarity, visible to about 9 ft.

C

Wind Lake

Lake County, Minnesota

Moderate clarity, visible to about 9 ft.

Side-by-Side Metrics

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

MetricBasswood LakeWind Lake
Overall GradeC (Fair)C (Fair)
Water Clarity9 ft9 ft
PhosphorusNo dataNo data
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth111 ft32 ft
Surface Area26.0K acres926.08 acres
Public AccessNoNo
Fish Species11
Trophic Statemesotrophicmesotrophic

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

Verdict

Both lakes earn the same Grade C. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Basswood Lake: 9 ft, Wind Lake: 9 ft) and what you want from the lake. Basswood Lake matches its peer on species count.