Frances Lake vs German Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Frances Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than German Lake. Both are in Le Sueur County, Minnesota.
Frances Lake and German 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 close: Frances Lake and German Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Frances Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6 ft.
German Lake
Murky, only visible to about 3.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Frances Lake | German Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 6 ft Better | 3.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 23 µg/L Better | 74 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 20.6 µg/L Better | 61.9 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 60 ft Better | 51 ft |
| Surface Area | 927 acres | 889 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 19 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | 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.
Swap a lake
Compare Frances Lake or German Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Frances Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than German Lake. Water clarity: 6 ft vs 3.5 ft. For more fish-species variety, German Lake edges ahead with 19 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.