Emily Lake vs Minnewaska Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Minnewaska Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Emily Lake. Both are in Pope County, Minnesota.
Emily Lake and Minnewaska Lake are both in Minnesota — a same-state head-to-head where the comparison comes down to lake-specific differences in depth, watershed, and monitoring history rather than the broader state-level water-quality regime. The readings are meaningfully apart: Minnewaska Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Emily 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: Minnewaska 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?
Emily Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Minnewaska Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 11 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Emily Lake | Minnewaska Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 2 ft | 11 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 90 µg/L | 24 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 24.5 µg/L | 6 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 6 ft | 32 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 2,316 acres | 8,050 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 26 Better | 21 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | 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
Minnewaska Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Emily Lake. Water clarity: 11 ft vs 2 ft. For more fish-species variety, Emily Lake edges ahead with 26 documented species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.