Big Lake vs Mukooda Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Big Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Mukooda Lake. Both are in St. Louis County, Minnesota.
Big Lake and Mukooda 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 close: Big Lake and Mukooda Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Big Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.2 ft.
Mukooda Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.6 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Big Lake | Mukooda Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 8.2 ft | 16.6 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 14 µg/L Better | 17 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.9 µg/L | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 22 ft | 78 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 1,904 acres | 774 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 8 | 14 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 Big Lake or Mukooda Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Big Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Mukooda Lake. Water clarity: 8.2 ft vs 16.6 ft. For more fish-species variety, Mukooda Lake edges ahead with 14 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.