Shallow Lake vs Swan Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Shallow Lake and Swan Lake both received the same overall water quality grade of A (Excellent). Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Both Shallow Lake and Swan Lake sit in Minnesota. A same-state comparison strips out the state-level water-quality regime as a variable: any grade differences here are about the lakes themselves, not the agencies grading them. The grades are close: Shallow Lake (A) and Swan Lake (A) 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.
Shallow Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Swan Lake
Good clarity, visible to about 13.5 ft.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Shallow Lake | Swan Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | A (Excellent) | A (Excellent) |
| Water Clarity | 16.4 ft | 13.5 ft |
| Phosphorus | 9 µg/L | 18 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.2 µg/L | 5.2 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 85 ft | 65 ft |
| Surface Area | 539 acres | 2,456 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 12 | 17 |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | mesotrophic |
Bold value = better for that metric (lower phosphorus / chlorophyll = cleaner; higher Secchi / depth / species count = better).
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Shallow Lake: 16.4 ft, Swan Lake: 13.5 ft) and what you want from the lake. Shallow Lake has fewer fish species than Swan Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.