Eagle Lake vs Spitzer Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Eagle Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Spitzer Lake. Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Both Eagle Lake and Spitzer Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any differences in the readings here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies sampling them. The readings are close: Eagle Lake and Spitzer 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.
Eagle Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 22.6 ft down.
Spitzer Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Eagle Lake | Spitzer Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 22.6 ft Better | 7 ft |
| Phosphorus | 5 µg/L Better | 24 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 1.8 µg/L Better | 7.1 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 46 ft Better | 33 ft |
| Surface Area | 907 acres | 731 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 10 | 13 Better |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | 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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Compare Eagle Lake or Spitzer Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Eagle Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Spitzer Lake. Water clarity: 22.6 ft vs 7 ft. For more fish-species variety, Spitzer Lake edges ahead with 13 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.