Beltrami Lake vs Movil Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Beltrami Lake and Movil Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Beltrami County, Minnesota.
Beltrami Lake and Movil 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 close: Beltrami Lake (A) and Movil Lake (A) are within one letter of each other on our A–F scale. 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.
Beltrami Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.2 ft.
Movil Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Beltrami Lake | Movil Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 11.2 ft | 14 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 15 µg/L | 12 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.3 µg/L Better | 5.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 50 ft | 50 ft |
| Surface Area | 726 acres | 855 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 20 Better |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
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.
Swap a lake
Compare Beltrami Lake or Movil Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Beltrami Lake: 11.2 ft, Movil Lake: 14 ft) and what you want from the lake. Beltrami Lake has fewer fish species than Movil Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.