Planting Ground Lake vs Thunder Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Planting Ground Lake and Thunder Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Poor). Both are in Oneida County, Wisconsin.
Planting Ground Lake and Thunder Lake are both in Wisconsin — 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: Planting Ground Lake (D) and Thunder Lake (D) 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.
Planting Ground Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5.1 ft.
Thunder Lake
Murky, only visible to about 5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Planting Ground Lake | Thunder Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 5.1 ft | 5 ft |
| Phosphorus | No data | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 37 ft | 9 ft |
| Surface Area | 1.0K acres | 1.8K 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
Both lakes earn the same Grade D. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Planting Ground Lake: 5.1 ft, Thunder Lake: 5 ft) and what you want from the lake. Planting Ground Lake matches its peer on species count.