Cottontail Lake vs Jackrabbit Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Cottontail Lake has a higher water quality grade (F, Very Poor) than Jackrabbit Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Jackson County, Wisconsin.
Cottontail Lake and Jackrabbit Lake are both in Missouri — 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Cottontail Lake (F) versus Jackrabbit Lake (F). 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.
Cottontail Lake
Very murky, less than 1.6 ft of visibility.
Jackrabbit Lake
Very murky, less than 1.5 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Cottontail Lake | Jackrabbit Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 1.6 ft | 1.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 86.5 µg/L | 148.3 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 39.4 µg/L | 40 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 21 acres | 28 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | hypereutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Cottontail Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade F versus Jackrabbit Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 1.6 ft vs 1.5 ft. For fishing diversity, Cottontail Lake also leads with 0 species.