George Lake vs Washburn Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Washburn Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than George Lake. Both are in Cass County, Minnesota.
George Lake and Washburn 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. Washburn Lake reads materially cleaner than George Lake on nutrients and algae. 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 gap in the readings is decisive: Washburn 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?
George Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5 ft.
Washburn Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 14.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | George Lake | Washburn Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5 ft | 14.1 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 40 µg/L | 11 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 7.3 µg/L | 3.7 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 20 ft | 111 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 612 acres | 1,590 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 11 | 21 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | mesotrophic |
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
Washburn Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than George Lake. Water clarity: 14.1 ft vs 5 ft. For fishing diversity, Washburn Lake also leads with 21 species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.