Kitchi West Arm Lake vs Moose Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Moose Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Kitchi West Arm Lake (C, Fair). Both are in Beltrami County, Minnesota.
Both Kitchi West Arm Lake and Moose Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are meaningfully apart: Moose Lake grades a A while Kitchi West Arm Lake grades a C. That two-letter spread reflects real underlying differences — different watershed inputs, different depth profiles, or different monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Moose Lake is the better water-quality choice. For a researcher, the gap is the interesting part: what is different about the two watersheds, and which of those differences is mutable?
Kitchi West Arm Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.2 ft.
Moose Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 15.1 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Kitchi West Arm Lake | Moose Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | C (Fair) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 10.2 ft | 15.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 22.5 µg/L | 11 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 7.7 µg/L | 2.2 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 50 ft | 71 ft |
| Surface Area | 1,865 acres | 601 acres |
| Public Access | No | Yes |
| Fish Species | 16 | 12 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | oligotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Moose Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Kitchi West Arm Lake's Grade C. Water clarity: 15.1 ft vs 10.2 ft. For more fish-species variety, Kitchi West Arm Lake edges ahead with 16 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.