Jay Gould Lake vs Shallow Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Shallow Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Jay Gould Lake. Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Jay Gould Lake and Shallow 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 readings are close: Jay Gould Lake and Shallow 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.
Jay Gould Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Shallow Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Jay Gould Lake | Shallow Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 13 ft | 16.4 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 21 µg/L | 9 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.2 µg/L | 3.2 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 33 ft | 85 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 552 acres | 539 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 Better | 12 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
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
Jay Gould Lake and Shallow Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Jay Gould Lake: 13 ft, Shallow Lake: 16.4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Jay Gould Lake supports more documented fish species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.