Birch Lake vs Howard Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Howard Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Birch Lake. Both are in Cass County, Minnesota.
Birch Lake and Howard 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: Birch Lake and Howard 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.
Birch Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14 ft.
Howard Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Birch Lake | Howard Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 14 ft | 16 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 12 µg/L | 9 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4 µg/L | 1.7 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 45 ft | 60 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 1,267 acres | 386 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 14 Better | 12 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
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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Verdict
Birch Lake and Howard Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Birch Lake: 14 ft, Howard Lake: 16 ft) and what you want from the lake. Birch Lake supports more documented fish species.
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Where to stay near Birch Lake and Howard Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.