East Leaf Lake vs Pelican Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pelican Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than East Leaf Lake. Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Both East Leaf Lake and Pelican 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 meaningfully apart: Pelican Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than East Leaf Lake. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Pelican 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 Leaf Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.9 ft.
Pelican Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | East Leaf Lake | Pelican Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 7.9 ft | 16.4 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 23 µg/L | 15 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 9.8 µg/L | 3 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 43 ft | 55 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 404 acres | 3,962 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 19 | 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
Pelican Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than East Leaf Lake. Water clarity: 16.4 ft vs 7.9 ft. For fishing diversity, Pelican Lake also leads with 20 species.
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Where to stay near East Leaf Lake and Pelican Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.