Eagle Lake vs Peterson Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Eagle Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Peterson Lake (D, Poor). Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Both Eagle Lake and Peterson 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. Eagle Lake (A) is materially cleaner than Peterson Lake (D). 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 grade gap is decisive — Eagle Lake is the better water-quality choice. 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
Crystal clear, you can see 22.6 ft down.
Peterson Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Eagle Lake | Peterson Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 22.6 ft | 5.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | 5 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 46 ft | 69 ft |
| Surface Area | 907.4 acres | 2.5K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 10 | 16 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Eagle Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Peterson Lake's Grade D. Water clarity: 22.6 ft vs 5.9 ft. For more fish-species variety, Peterson Lake edges ahead with 16 documented species.