Birch Lake vs Ten Mile Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Ten Mile Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Birch Lake (A, Excellent). Both are in Cass County, Minnesota.
Both Birch Lake and Ten Mile 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: Birch Lake (A) and Ten Mile Lake (A) 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.
Birch Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13.7 ft.
Ten Mile Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 20 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Birch Lake | Ten Mile Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 13.7 ft | 20 ft |
| Phosphorus | 12 µg/L | 8 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 45 ft | 208 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.3K acres | 5.1K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Ten Mile Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Birch Lake's Grade A. Water clarity: 20 ft vs 13.7 ft. For fishing diversity, Ten Mile Lake also leads with 1 species.