East Battle Lake vs East Leaf Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
East Battle Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than East Leaf Lake. Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Both East Battle Lake and East Leaf 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. East Battle Lake reads materially cleaner than East Leaf 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: East Battle 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?
East Battle Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13.1 ft.
East Leaf Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | East Battle Lake | East Leaf Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 13.1 ft Better | 7.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | 12 µg/L Better | 23 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.2 µg/L Better | 9.8 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 87 ft Better | 43 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,978 acres | 404 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 19 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
East Battle Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than East Leaf Lake. Water clarity: 13.1 ft vs 7.9 ft. For more fish-species variety, East Leaf Lake edges ahead with 19 documented species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.