Sand Lake vs Upper Clam Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Sand Lake has a higher water quality grade (A, Excellent) than Upper Clam Lake (F, Very Poor). Both are in Burnett County, Wisconsin.
Sand Lake and Upper Clam 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. Sand Lake (A) is materially cleaner than Upper Clam Lake (F). A gap that wide is unlikely to close in a single year of remediation work; it reflects multi-decade differences in the lakes themselves.
For a recreational visitor, the wider grade gap is decisive — Sand 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?
Sand Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18.3 ft down.
Upper Clam Lake
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Sand Lake | Upper Clam Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | F (Very Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 18.3 ft | 2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 9.9 µg/L | No data |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | No data | No data |
| Maximum Depth | 73 ft | 11 ft |
| Surface Area | 900 acres | 1.3K acres |
| Public Access | Unknown | Unknown |
| Fish Species | 0 | 0 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | eutrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Sand Lake wins on overall water quality with a Grade A versus Upper Clam Lake's Grade F. Water clarity: 18.3 ft vs 2 ft. For fishing diversity, Sand Lake also leads with 0 species.