Little Wolf Lake vs Midge Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Midge Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Little Wolf Lake. Both are in Minnesota.
Both Little Wolf Lake and Midge 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 meaningfully apart: Midge Lake carries clearly lower phosphorus and chlorophyll-a readings than Little Wolf 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: Midge 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 Wolf Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 7 ft.
Midge Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Little Wolf Lake | Midge Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 7 ft | 18 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 26.5 µg/L | 16 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 12.7 µg/L | 2.5 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 24 ft | 24 ft |
| Surface Area | 525 acres | 546 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 13 Better | 11 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | 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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Compare Little Wolf Lake or Midge Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Midge Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Little Wolf Lake. Water clarity: 18 ft vs 7 ft. For more fish-species variety, Little Wolf Lake edges ahead with 13 documented species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.