Upper Red Lake: Central vs Upper Red Lake: West
Water quality, depth, fish species, and recreation comparison.
Upper Red Lake: Central and Upper Red Lake: West both received the same overall water quality grade of D (Poor). Both are in Beltrami County, Minnesota.
Upper Red Lake: Central and Upper Red Lake: West 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 grades are close: Upper Red Lake: Central (D) and Upper Red Lake: West (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.
Upper Red Lake: Central
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Upper Red Lake: West
Very murky, less than 2 ft of visibility.
Side-by-Side Metrics
| Metric | Upper Red Lake: Central | Upper Red Lake: West |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Grade | D (Poor) | D (Poor) |
| Water Clarity | 2 ft | 2 ft |
| Phosphorus | 41 µg/L | 41 µg/L |
| Chlorophyll-a (Algae) | 13.2 µg/L | 16 µg/L |
| Maximum Depth | 15 ft | 15 ft |
| Surface Area | 119,294 acres | 119,294 acres |
| Public Access | No | No |
| Fish Species | 15 | 15 |
| 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 (Upper Red Lake: Central: 2 ft, Upper Red Lake: West: 2 ft) and what you want from the lake. Upper Red Lake: Central matches its peer on species count.
Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.