Campbell Lake vs Turtle Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Turtle Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Campbell Lake. Both are in Beltrami County, Minnesota.
Campbell Lake and Turtle 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. Turtle 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: Turtle 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.
Turtle Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.2 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Campbell Lake | Turtle Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 6.7 ft | 10.2 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 21.5 µg/L | 15 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 8.4 µg/L | 4.9 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 25 ft | 45 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 463 acres | 1,607 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 14 | 16 Better |
| 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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Verdict
Turtle Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Campbell Lake. Water clarity: 10.2 ft vs 6.7 ft. For fishing diversity, Turtle Lake also leads with 16 species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.