Ml-Malone Lake vs Ml-Thains Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Ml-Malone Lake and Ml-Thains Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of B (Good). Both are in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota.
Ml-Malone Lake and Ml-Thains 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. These two are within a letter of each other on the rubric — Ml-Malone Lake (B) versus Ml-Thains Lake (B). The deciding factors for a recreational visitor are likely physical (depth, access, fish species) rather than water-quality differences.
With grades this close, the choice between the two lakes turns on non-water-quality factors: depth, fish species, public access, distance from home. The per-lake pages below cover all of those.
Ml-Malone Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.7 ft.
Ml-Thains Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.3 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Ml-Malone Lake | Ml-Thains Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | B (Good) | B (Good) |
| Water Clarity | 5.7 ft | 5.3 ft |
| Phosphorus | 24 µg/L | 26 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 4.4 µg/L | 3.5 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 42 ft | 42 ft |
| Surface Area | 128.3K acres | 128.3K acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 1 | 1 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade B. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Ml-Malone Lake: 5.7 ft, Ml-Thains Lake: 5.3 ft) and what you want from the lake. Ml-Malone Lake matches its peer on species count.