Lake of the Falls

On the LakeGrade rubric, Lake of the Falls pulls an A: clarity at 16.4 ft and 20 µg/L of phosphorus put it in the top bracket for Wisconsin. The three sub-grades — clarity, phosphorus, and chlorophyll-a — track close together, so no single parameter is dragging the average.

A TSI near 42 places Lake of the Falls in the mesotrophic band — moderate productivity, with seasonal swings between clearer spring water and richer late-summer conditions. A maximum depth of 23 ft puts Lake of the Falls in the middle of Wisconsin's depth distribution. The lake's 297 acres and partial shoreline records put it in the mid-range bucket — large enough for varied use, small enough that watershed inputs reach the whole basin. Lake of the Falls ranks 10 of 34 in Iron County — solidly in the upper half of the local distribution.

Lake of the Falls has at least one documented invasive species (Banded Mystery Snail), so boaters and anglers should observe clean-drain-dry steps when leaving the lake. Walleye are documented at Lake of the Falls, one of 6 fish species on record for the lake. Monitoring depth is thin here: the LakeGrade rubric is applied to a small number of sample years, and the grade will be revised as more data accumulates.