Buchanan Lake vs Pelican Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pelican Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Buchanan Lake. Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Buchanan Lake and Pelican 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 meaningfully apart: Pelican Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Buchanan Lake. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Pelican Lake has the lower nutrient and algae numbers. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Buchanan Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.5 ft.
Pelican Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Buchanan Lake | Pelican Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5.5 ft | 16.4 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 22 µg/L | 15 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 12.3 µg/L | 3 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 42 ft | 55 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 964 acres | 3,962 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 8 | 20 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | 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 Buchanan Lake or Pelican Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Pelican Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Buchanan Lake. Water clarity: 16.4 ft vs 5.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Pelican Lake also leads with 20 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.