Fox Valley Lake vs Lake Geode
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Fox Valley Lake has a higher water quality grade (B, Good) than Lake Geode (F, Very Poor).
This comparison crosses state lines: Fox Valley Lake in Missouri versus Lake Geode in Iowa. The LakeGrade rubric is uniform across both, but the underlying monitoring programs differ in subtle ways worth noting. Fox Valley Lake (B) is materially cleaner than Lake Geode (F). 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 grade gap is decisive — Fox Valley Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Fox Valley Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.5 ft.
Lake Geode
Very murky, less than 2.1 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Fox Valley Lake | Lake Geode |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 8.5 ft | 2.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 16.5 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.6 µg/L | 30.5 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 96 acres | 195 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Fox Valley Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade B versus Lake Geode's Grade F. Water clarity: 8.5 ft vs 2.1 ft. For fishing diversity, Fox Valley Lake also leads with 0 species.