Scotch Lake vs Washington Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Washington Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Scotch Lake. Both are in Le Sueur County, Minnesota.
Scotch Lake and Washington 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: Scotch Lake and Washington 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.
Scotch Lake
Very murky, less than 2.6 ft of visibility.
Washington Lake
Murky, only visible to about 4.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Scotch Lake | Washington Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 2.6 ft | 4.5 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 569 µg/L | 122 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 9.7 µg/L Better | 51.3 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 11 ft | 51 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 598 acres | 1,516 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 5 | 18 Better |
| Trophic State | hypereutrophic | eutrophic |
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.
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Verdict
Scotch Lake reads lower on nutrients and algae than Washington Lake. Water clarity: 2.6 ft vs 4.5 ft. For more fish-species variety, Washington Lake edges ahead with 18 documented species.
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Where to stay near Scotch Lake and Washington Lake
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Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.