Johnson Lake vs Wabana Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Wabana Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Johnson Lake. Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Both Johnson Lake and Wabana 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: Johnson Lake and Wabana 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.
Johnson Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15.7 ft down.
Wabana Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Johnson Lake | Wabana Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 15.7 ft | 18 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 9.5 µg/L | 8 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 2.7 µg/L | 2.3 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 88 ft | 115 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 434 acres | 2,221 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 11 | 14 Better |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | 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
Johnson Lake and Wabana Lake read the same on nutrients and algae overall. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Johnson Lake: 15.7 ft, Wabana Lake: 18 ft) and what you want from the lake. Johnson Lake has fewer fish species than Wabana Lake.
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Where to stay near Johnson Lake and Wabana Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.