Games Lake vs Norway Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Games Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Norway Lake. Both are in Kandiyohi County, Minnesota.
Both Games Lake and Norway 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: Games Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Norway 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: Games 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?
Games Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.2 ft.
Norway Lake
Very murky, less than 2.4 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Games Lake | Norway Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5.2 ft Better | 2.4 ft |
| Phosphorus | 31.5 µg/L Better | 60 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 12.5 µg/L Better | 37.4 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 42 ft | 42 ft |
| Surface Area | 527 acres | 527 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 15 | 15 |
| 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.
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Verdict
Games Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Norway Lake. Water clarity: 5.2 ft vs 2.4 ft. For fishing diversity, Games Lake also leads with 15 species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.