Hendricks Lake vs Shaokotan Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Hendricks Lake and Shaokotan Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Poor). Both are in Lincoln County, Minnesota.
Hendricks Lake and Shaokotan 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 grades are close: Hendricks Lake (D) and Shaokotan Lake (D) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.
With grades 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.
Hendricks Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6.2 ft.
Shaokotan Lake
Very murky, less than 3 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Hendricks Lake | Shaokotan Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 6.2 ft | 3 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 51.5 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 9 ft | 10 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.5K acres | 996.28 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade D. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Hendricks Lake: 6.2 ft, Shaokotan Lake: 3 ft) and what you want from the lake. Hendricks Lake matches its peer on species count.