Circle Lake vs Mazaska Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Circle Lake and Mazaska Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of F (Very Poor). Both are in Rice County, Minnesota.
Both Circle Lake and Mazaska 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. The grades are close: Circle Lake (F) and Mazaska Lake (F) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
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.
Circle Lake
Very murky, less than 1.5 ft of visibility.
Mazaska Lake
Very murky, less than 2.5 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Circle Lake | Mazaska Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 1.5 ft | 2.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 484.5 µg/L | 99 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 14 ft | 50 ft |
| Surface Area | 837.58 acres | 687.68 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | hypereutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade F. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Circle Lake: 1.5 ft, Mazaska Lake: 2.5 ft) and what you want from the lake. Circle Lake matches its peer on species count.