Blue Lake vs Katherine Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Blue Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Katherine Lake (B, Good). Both are in Oneida County, Wisconsin.
Both Blue Lake and Katherine Lake sit in Wisconsin. 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Blue Lake (A) versus Katherine Lake (B). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
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.
Blue Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 23 ft down.
Katherine Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Blue Lake | Katherine Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 23 ft | 14 ft |
| Phosphorus | 10.5 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 49 ft | 30 ft |
| Surface Area | 441 acres | 524 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 4 | 5 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Blue Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Katherine Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 23 ft vs 14 ft. For more fish-species variety, Katherine Lake edges ahead with 5 documented species.