Blanche Lake vs West Battle Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Blanche Lake and West Battle Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Both Blanche Lake and West Battle 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: Blanche Lake (A) and West Battle 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.
Blanche Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.5 ft.
West Battle Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Blanche Lake | West Battle Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 12.5 ft | 18 ft |
| Phosphorus | 11 µg/L | 8 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.5 µg/L | 2.7 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 64 ft | 108 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,296 acres | 5,615 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 4 | 17 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Blanche Lake: 12.5 ft, West Battle Lake: 18 ft) and what you want from the lake. Blanche Lake has fewer fish species than West Battle Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.