Irving Lake vs Plantagenet Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Plantagenet Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Irving Lake. Both are in Minnesota.
Both Irving Lake and Plantagenet 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: Plantagenet Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Irving 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: Plantagenet 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?
Irving Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.6 ft.
Plantagenet Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Irving Lake | Plantagenet Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5.6 ft | 7 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 32 µg/L | 20 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 10.2 µg/L | 6.7 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 19 ft | 65 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 662 acres | 2,531 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 20 | 20 |
| 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.
Swap a lake
Compare Irving Lake or Plantagenet Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Plantagenet Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Irving Lake. Water clarity: 7 ft vs 5.6 ft. For fishing diversity, Plantagenet Lake also leads with 20 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.