Frances Lake vs Washington Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Frances Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Washington Lake. Both are in Le Sueur County, Minnesota.
Both Frances Lake and Washington 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 close: Frances Lake and Washington 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.
Washington Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Frances Lake | Washington Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 6 ft Better | 4.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 23 µg/L Better | 122 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 20.6 µg/L Better | 51.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 60 ft Better | 51 ft |
| Surface Area | 927 acres | 1,516 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 18 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 Washington Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Frances Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Washington Lake. Water clarity: 6 ft vs 4.5 ft. For more fish-species variety, Washington Lake edges ahead with 18 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.