Buck Lake vs Shallow Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Shallow Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Buck Lake (B, Good). Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Both Buck Lake and Shallow 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Buck Lake (B) versus Shallow Lake (A). 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.
Buck Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12 ft.
Shallow Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Buck Lake | Shallow Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 12 ft | 16.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 9 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 31 ft | 85 ft |
| Surface Area | 495.06 acres | 538.95 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Shallow Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Buck Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 16.4 ft vs 12 ft. For fishing diversity, Shallow Lake also leads with 1 species.