Johanna Lake vs Scandinavian Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Scandinavian Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Johanna Lake. Both are in Pope County, Minnesota.
Both Johanna Lake and Scandinavian 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. Scandinavian Lake reads materially cleaner than Johanna 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: Scandinavian 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?
Johanna Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.1 ft.
Scandinavian Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Johanna Lake | Scandinavian Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 5.1 ft | 8 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 34.5 µg/L | 20 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 13.4 µg/L | 6.7 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 10 ft | 49 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 1,399 acres | 417 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 11 | 15 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
Scandinavian Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Johanna Lake. Water clarity: 8 ft vs 5.1 ft. For fishing diversity, Scandinavian Lake also leads with 15 species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.