Campbell Lake vs Julia Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Julia Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Campbell Lake. Both are in Beltrami County, Minnesota.
Both Campbell Lake and Julia Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. Julia Lake reads materially cleaner than Campbell Lake on nutrients and algae. A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Julia 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?
Campbell Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 6.7 ft.
Julia Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.2 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Campbell Lake | Julia Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 6.7 ft | 9.2 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 21.5 µg/L | 21 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 8.4 µg/L | 4.5 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 25 ft | 43 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 463 acres | 511 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 14 Better | 10 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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.
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Compare Campbell Lake or Julia Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Julia Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Campbell Lake. Water clarity: 9.2 ft vs 6.7 ft. For more fish-species variety, Campbell Lake edges ahead with 14 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.