Clearwater Lake vs Mary Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Clearwater Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Mary Lake. Both are in Crow Wing County, Minnesota.
Clearwater Lake and Mary 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. The readings are meaningfully apart: Clearwater Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Mary Lake. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Clearwater 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?
Clearwater Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Mary Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Clearwater Lake | Mary Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 13 ft Better | 4.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | 12 µg/L Better | 20.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.7 µg/L Better | 8.8 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 54 ft Better | 34 ft |
| Surface Area | 905 acres | 413 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 16 Better | 13 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
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
Clearwater Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Mary Lake. Water clarity: 13 ft vs 4.9 ft. For fishing diversity, Clearwater Lake also leads with 16 species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.