Florida Lake vs Long Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Florida Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Long Lake. Both are in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.
Both Florida Lake and Long 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: Florida Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Long 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: Florida 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?
Florida Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 12.3 ft.
Long Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Florida Lake | Long Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 12.3 ft Better | 5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 20 µg/L Better | 92 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.8 µg/L Better | 42.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 40 ft Better | 16 ft |
| Surface Area | 705 acres | 1,573 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 18 Better | 16 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
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
Florida Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Long Lake. Water clarity: 12.3 ft vs 5 ft. For fishing diversity, Florida Lake also leads with 18 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.