Cotton Lake vs North Tamarac Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Cotton Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than North Tamarac Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Becker County, Minnesota.
Both Cotton Lake and North Tamarac 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: Cotton Lake (B) and North Tamarac Lake (C) 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.
Cotton Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11.5 ft.
North Tamarac Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Cotton Lake | North Tamarac Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 11.5 ft | 3.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 36 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 28 ft | 17 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.8K acres | 1.4K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 15 | 12 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Cotton Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus North Tamarac Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 11.5 ft vs 3.9 ft. For fishing diversity, Cotton Lake also leads with 15 species.