Elbow Lake vs West Vermilion Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Elbow Lake and West Vermilion Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of C (Fair). Both are in St. Louis County, Minnesota.
Both Elbow Lake and West Vermilion 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. The grades are close: Elbow Lake (C) and West Vermilion Lake (C) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
With grades 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.
Elbow Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft.
West Vermilion Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Elbow Lake | West Vermilion Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 7 ft | 7.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 60 ft | 76 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.7K acres | 39.3K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade C. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Elbow Lake: 7 ft, West Vermilion Lake: 7.9 ft) and what you want from the lake. Elbow Lake matches its peer on species count.