Dead Lake vs Pelican Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pelican Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Dead Lake. Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Dead Lake and Pelican 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 close: Dead Lake and Pelican Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Dead Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.2 ft.
Pelican Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Dead Lake | Pelican Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 10.2 ft | 16.4 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 20 µg/L | 15 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 5.8 µg/L | 3 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 65 ft Better | 55 ft |
| Surface Area | 7,546 acres | 3,962 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 18 | 20 Better |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
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
Dead Lake and Pelican Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Dead Lake: 10.2 ft, Pelican Lake: 16.4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Dead Lake has fewer fish species than Pelican Lake.
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Where to stay near Dead Lake and Pelican Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.