Big Kandiyohi Lake vs Florida Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Florida Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Big Kandiyohi Lake. Both are in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.
Both Big Kandiyohi Lake and Florida Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. Florida Lake reads materially cleaner than Big Kandiyohi Lake on nutrients and algae. A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Florida 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?
Big Kandiyohi Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.2 ft.
Florida Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.3 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Kandiyohi Lake | Florida Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5.2 ft | 12.3 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 143.5 µg/L | 20 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 6.7 µg/L | 3.8 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 18 ft | 40 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 2,730 acres | 705 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 18 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | 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.
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Compare Big Kandiyohi Lake or Florida Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Florida Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Big Kandiyohi Lake. Water clarity: 12.3 ft vs 5.2 ft. For fishing diversity, Florida Lake also leads with 18 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.