Jefferson Lake vs Scotch Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Jefferson Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Scotch Lake. Both are in Le Sueur County, Minnesota.
Both Jefferson Lake and Scotch 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 close: Jefferson Lake and Scotch 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.
Jefferson Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Scotch Lake
Very murky, less than 2.6 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Jefferson Lake | Scotch Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 2 ft | 2.6 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 86.5 µg/L Better | 569 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 72 µg/L | 9.7 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | - | 11 ft |
| Surface Area | 700 acres | 598 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 0 | 5 Better |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | hypereutrophic |
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
Scotch Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Jefferson Lake. Water clarity: 2.6 ft vs 2 ft. For fishing diversity, Scotch Lake also leads with 5 species.
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Where to stay near Jefferson Lake and Scotch Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.