Shallow Lake vs Wabana Lake
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Shallow Lake and Wabana Lake read the same on nutrients and algae. Both are in Itasca County, Minnesota.
Shallow Lake and Wabana 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: Shallow Lake and Wabana 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.
Shallow Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 16.4 ft down.
Wabana Lake
Crystal clear, you can see 18 ft down.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Shallow Lake | Wabana Lake |
|---|---|---|
| Water Clarity | 16.4 ft | 18 ft Better |
| Phosphorus | 9 µg/L | 8 µg/L Better |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 3.2 µg/L | 2.3 µg/L Better |
| Maximum Depth | 85 ft | 115 ft Better |
| Surface Area | 539 acres | 2,221 acres |
| Public Access | Yes | Yes |
| Fish Species | 12 | 14 Better |
| Trophic State | oligotrophic | oligotrophic |
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 Shallow Lake or Wabana Lake against a different lake.
Verdict
Both lakes earn the same Grade A. The tiebreakers come down to clarity (Shallow Lake: 16.4 ft, Wabana Lake: 18 ft) and what you want from the lake. Shallow Lake has fewer fish species than Wabana Lake.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.