Blanche Lake vs Otter Tail Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Blanche Lake and Otter Tail Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Blanche Lake and Otter Tail 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: Blanche Lake (A) and Otter Tail 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.
Blanche Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.5 ft.
Otter Tail Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Blanche Lake | Otter Tail Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 12.5 ft Better | 12.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 11 µg/L Better | 16 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.5 µg/L Better | 5.5 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 64 ft | 120 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 1,296 acres | 14,079 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 4 | 17 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 Blanche Lake or Otter Tail Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Blanche Lake: 12.5 ft, Otter Tail Lake: 12.1 ft) and what you want from the lake. Blanche Lake has fewer fish species than Otter Tail Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.