Pelican Lake vs Prairie Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Pelican Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Prairie Lake. Both are in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
Pelican Lake and Prairie 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 readings are close: Pelican Lake and Prairie Lake sit within a narrow band of each other on phosphorus, chlorophyll-a and clarity. The per-parameter table below shows where the small differences actually live.
With readings 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.
Pelican Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Prairie Lake
Moderate clarity, visible to about 8.9 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Pelican Lake | Prairie Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 16.4 ft Better | 8.9 ft |
| Phosphorus | 15 µg/L Better | 18 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3 µg/L Better | 7.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 55 ft Better | 22 ft |
| Surface Area | 3,962 acres | 1,004 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 20 Better | 15 |
| Trophic State | mesotrophic | mesotrophic |
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.
Swap a lake
Compare Pelican Lake or Prairie Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Pelican Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Prairie Lake. Water clarity: 16.4 ft vs 8.9 ft. For fishing diversity, Pelican Lake also leads with 20 species.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.