Little Cut Foot Lake vs Sand Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Sand Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Little Cut Foot Lake (D, Poor). Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Both Little Cut Foot Lake and Sand 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: Sand Lake grades a A while Little Cut Foot Lake grades a D. 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 — Sand 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?
Little Cut Foot Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6.6 ft.
Sand Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Little Cut Foot Lake | Sand Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 6.6 ft | 13 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | 18 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 20 ft | 60 ft |
| Surface Area | 619.1 acres | 714.55 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | No |
| Fish Species | 1 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Sand Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Little Cut Foot Lake's Grade D. Water clarity: 13 ft vs 6.6 ft. For more fish-species variety, Little Cut Foot Lake edges ahead with 1 documented species.