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LakeQuality

Butternut Lake vs Franklin Lake

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Butternut Lake and Franklin Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Forest County, Wisconsin.

A

Butternut Lake

Forest County, Wisconsin

Crystal clear, you can see 59.1 ft down.

A

Franklin Lake

Forest County, Wisconsin

Crystal clear, you can see 52.5 ft down.

Side-by-Side Metrics

MetricButternut LakeFranklin Lake
Overall GradeA (Excellent)A (Excellent)
Water Clarity59.1 ft52.5 ft
Phosphorus11.8 µg/L10.8 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)No dataNo data
Maximum Depth42 ft46 ft
Surface Area1.2K acres839 acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species45
Trophic Stateoligotrophicoligotrophic

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 (Butternut Lake: 59.1 ft, Franklin Lake: 52.5 ft) and what you want from the lake. Butternut Lake has fewer fish species than Franklin Lake.