Frances Lake vs Upper Sakatah Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Frances Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Upper Sakatah Lake. Both are in Le Sueur County, Minnesota.
Both Frances Lake and Upper Sakatah 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. These two sit close on the readings, Frances Lake versus Upper Sakatah Lake. The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
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.
Upper Sakatah Lake
Very murky, less than 3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Frances Lake | Upper Sakatah Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 6 ft Better | 3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 23 µg/L Better | 303 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 20.6 µg/L Better | 76.8 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 60 ft Better | 12 ft |
| Surface Area | 927 acres | 892 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 Better | 14 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | hypereutrophic |
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 Upper Sakatah Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Frances Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Upper Sakatah Lake. Water clarity: 6 ft vs 3 ft. For fishing diversity, Frances Lake also leads with 16 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.