Clear Lake vs Minnewawa Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Clear Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Minnewawa Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Aitkin County, Minnesota.
Clear Lake and Minnewawa 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. Clear Lake (A) is materially cleaner than Minnewawa Lake (C). 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 grade gap is decisive — Clear Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Clear Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15 ft down.
Minnewawa Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Clear Lake | Minnewawa Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 15 ft | 5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 15 µg/L | 24.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 24 ft | 21 ft |
| Surface Area | 573.5 acres | 2.4K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 14 | 15 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Clear Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Minnewawa Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 15 ft vs 5 ft. For more fish-species variety, Minnewawa Lake edges ahead with 15 documented species.