Meadow Lake vs Mormon Trail Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Mormon Trail Lake has a higher water quality grade (C, Fair) than Meadow Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Adair County, Wisconsin.
Meadow Lake and Mormon Trail Lake are both in Iowa — 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 grades are meaningfully apart: Mormon Trail Lake grades a C while Meadow Lake grades a F. 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 — Mormon Trail 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?
Meadow Lake
Very murky, less than 1.7 ft of visibility.
Mormon Trail Lake
Murky, only visible to about 6.2 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Meadow Lake | Mormon Trail Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | F (Very Poor) | C (Fair) |
| Water Clarity | 1.7 ft | 6.2 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 53.1 µg/L | 9.7 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | - | - |
| Surface Area | 42 acres | 33 acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | eutrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Mormon Trail Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade C versus Meadow Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 6.2 ft vs 1.7 ft. For fishing diversity, Mormon Trail Lake also leads with 0 species.