Eagle Lake vs Long Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Eagle Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Long Lake. Both are in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.
Eagle Lake and Long 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. Eagle Lake reads materially cleaner than Long Lake on nutrients and algae. 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 gap in the readings is decisive: Eagle 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?
Eagle Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 6.9 ft.
Long Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Eagle Lake | Long Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 6.9 ft Better | 5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 23 µg/L Better | 92 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 7 µg/L Better | 42.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 67 ft Better | 16 ft |
| Surface Area | 849 acres | 1,573 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 17 Better | 16 |
| 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
Eagle Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Long Lake. Water clarity: 6.9 ft vs 5 ft. For fishing diversity, Eagle Lake also leads with 17 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.