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LakeQuality

Ml-Nshore Lake vs Ml-Nw Lake

Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.

Ml-Nshore Lake and Ml-Nw Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of B (Good). Both are in Aitkin County, Minnesota.

Ml-Nshore Lake and Ml-Nw 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 grades are close: Ml-Nshore Lake (B) and Ml-Nw Lake (B) are within one letter of each other on the LakeGrade rubric. The per-parameter sub-grades below will show where the small differences actually live.

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.

B

Ml-Nshore Lake

Aitkin County, Minnesota

Moderate clarity, visible to about 7.4 ft.

B

Ml-Nw Lake

Aitkin County, Minnesota

Moderate clarity, visible to about 9.4 ft.

Side-by-Side Metrics

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.

MetricMl-Nshore LakeMl-Nw Lake
Overall GradeB (Good)B (Good)
Water Clarity7.4 ft9.4 ft
Phosphorus24.5 µg/L24 µg/L
Chlorophyll-a (Algae)5.7 µg/L5.7 µg/L
Maximum Depth42 ft42 ft
Surface Area128.3K acres128.3K acres
Public AccessYesYes
Fish Species11
Trophic Statemesotrophicmesotrophic

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-Nshore Lake: 7.4 ft, Ml-Nw Lake: 9.4 ft) and what you want from the lake. Ml-Nshore Lake matches its peer on species count.