Cass Lake vs Kitchi West Arm Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Cass Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Kitchi West Arm Lake (B, Good). Both are in Beltrami County, Minnesota.
Both Cass Lake and Kitchi West Arm 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 — Cass Lake (A) versus Kitchi West Arm Lake (B). 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.
Cass Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18.5 ft down.
Kitchi West Arm Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.2 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Cass Lake | Kitchi West Arm Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 18.5 ft | 10.2 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.2 µg/L | 7.7 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 120 ft | 50 ft |
| Surface Area | 16.0K acres | 1.9K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Cass Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Kitchi West Arm Lake's Grade B. Water clarity: 18.5 ft vs 10.2 ft. For fishing diversity, Cass Lake also leads with 1 species.