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LakeQuality

Iron Lake

Iron County, Michigan390 acresView mapDirections

EGLE publishes the water-quality measurements for Iron Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
9 ft
Typical for Michigan
Secchi · sampled 2016
Phosphorus
9 µg/L
Typical for Michigan
Measured by EGLE
Chlorophyll-a
2.6 µg/L
Typical for Michigan
Measured by EGLE
Max depth
45 ft
Bathymetric survey
Area
390 acres
Surface area
Type
Mesotrophic
Trophic class
  • Mesotrophic
  • 45 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Iron Lake in Iron County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 9 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.6 µg/L. Maximum depth: 45 ft. Surface area: 389.9 acres.

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Iron Lake is a 390-acre mesotrophic lake in Iron County, Michigan with a maximum depth of 45 feet. Compared to the 20 other monitored lakes in Iron County, Iron Lake ranks #2 for water quality.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, EGLE, last sampled 2016-09-08. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

What Iron Lake is good for

From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.

  • Deep water45 ft surveyed max depth

Swimming conditions

Readings only

Limited data

Based on clarity and algae readings from past sampling — there is no live water temperature and a current cyanobacteria reading for this lake. Check your state or county health department before you swim.

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Whether Iron Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.

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Water quality measurements for Iron Lake

These are the measurements EGLE publishes for Iron Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.

Moderate clarity, visible to about 9 ft. Phosphorus 9 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 2.6 µg/L. TSI 40.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)9ftMeasured, not scored

How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer.

Total phosphorus9µg/LMeasured, not scored

The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential.

Chlorophyll-a (algae)2.6µg/LGood
GoodFairPoor
Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a.40Mesotrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

Moderate nutrients, good water quality

Ask about Iron Lake

Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.

Lake Details

Max depth

45 ft

Surface area

390 acres

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Stays near Iron Lake

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Fishing Iron Lake

Nearby Lakes in Iron County

Frequently asked questions about Iron Lake

Where is Iron Lake?

Iron Lake is a lake in Iron County, Michigan. Its water-quality measurements are published by EGLE and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Iron Lake?

Iron Lake in Iron County, Michigan has water-quality measurements published by EGLE, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 9 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 2.6 µg/L. Maximum depth: 45 ft. Surface area: 389.9 acres.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Iron Lake safe to swim in?

Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.

Swimming on this page ↑

How deep is Iron Lake?

Iron Lake has a maximum depth of 45 feet. The lake covers 389.9 acres.

Where this data comes from

18 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2016. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-26.

Collected and reported by

  • Michigan EGLE - MiCorps21MICH_MICORPS18 samples · 2016

Analytical methods

  • Phosphorus by Colorimetry
  • 445.0 ~ EPA; Chlorophyll and Pheophytin in Algae by Fluorescence
Monitoring station identifiers (1)

EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.