Mccraney Lake
Mahnomen County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Mccraney Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- Mesotrophic
- 46 ft max depth
- Limited data
Mccraney Lake in Mahnomen County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 19 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 10.3 µg/L.
Mccraney Lake is a mesotrophic lake in Mahnomen County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 46 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted. Compared to the 11 other monitored lakes in Mahnomen County, Mccraney Lake ranks #9 for water quality.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2025-09-01. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
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What Mccraney Lake is good for
From access and monitoring records, not editorial picks.
- Clear water12.1 ft of visibility
Swimming conditions
Readings onlyLimited 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 Mccraney Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota DNR and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Mccraney Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Mccraney Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Good clarity, visible to about 12.1 ft. Phosphorus 19 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 10.3 µg/L. TSI 47.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 12.1ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 19µg/L | Good GoodFairPoor |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 10.3µg/L | Fair GoodFairPoor |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 47 | Mesotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Moderate nutrients, good water quality
Ask about Mccraney Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~46 ft est.
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Mccraney Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
39 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
230 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
3.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,457 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
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Stays near Mccraney Lake
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Top-rated places to stay near Mccraney Lake
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Fishing Mccraney Lake
Water quality readings over time
3 seasons of samples on record (2020–2025). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.
Water clarity
Worsening3 years
Nearby Lakes in Mahnomen County
Frequently asked questions about Mccraney Lake
Where is Mccraney Lake?
- Mccraney Lake is a lake in Mahnomen County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Mccraney Lake?
- Mccraney Lake in Mahnomen County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 12.1 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 19 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 10.3 µg/L.
Is Mccraney Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Mccraney Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Mccraney Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 46 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Mccraney Lake?
- Public access to Mccraney Lake is listed as no on the lake record, so confirm before you make the trip. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Minnesota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
Explore Mccraney Lake across LakeQuality
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Where this data comes from
51 measurements from 3 monitoring stations, 2020–2025. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (White Earth Band) (Tribal)
WEARTH_WQX40 samples · 2024 - Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA11 samples · 2020–2025
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Two Reagent Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- Turbidity by Nephelometry
Monitoring station identifiers (3)
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.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder