Little Birch Lake vs Long Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Little Birch Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Long Lake. Both are in Todd County, Minnesota.
Little Birch Lake and Long 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 meaningfully apart: Little Birch Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Long Lake. A spread that wide reflects real underlying differences, in watershed inputs, depth profiles, or monitoring rigor.
For a recreational visitor, the wider gap in the readings is decisive: Little Birch 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?
Little Birch Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Long Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 10.1 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Little Birch Lake | Long Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 13 ft Better | 10.1 ft |
| Phosphorus | 19 µg/L Better | 25 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.1 µg/L Better | 7 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 89 ft Better | 63 ft |
| Surface Area | 839 acres | 399 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 20 Better | 16 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | 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
Little Birch Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Long Lake. Water clarity: 13 ft vs 10.1 ft. For fishing diversity, Little Birch Lake also leads with 20 species.
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.