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LakeQuality

Unnamed Lake

Big Stone County, MinnesotaView mapDirections

Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Unnamed Lake. Here is what has been measured.

Clarity
6.9 ft
Typical for Minnesota
Secchi · sampled 2023
Phosphorus
167.5 µg/L
More phosphorus than most
Measured by Minnesota PCA
Chlorophyll-a
11.6 µg/L
Typical for Minnesota
Measured by Minnesota PCA
Water temp
~68°F
Typical for Sep · EPA WQP
Max depth
~36 ft est.
GLOBathy model
  • 36 ft max depth
  • Limited data

Unnamed Lake in Big Stone County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 167.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 11.6 µg/L.

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Unnamed Lake is a lake in Big Stone County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 36 feet. Overall water quality is declining over recent sampling years. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.

Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2023-08-10. Methodology: how these readings are compared.

Swimming conditions

No reading

Limited data

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

Whether Unnamed 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.

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Water quality measurements for Unnamed Lake

These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Unnamed 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 6.9 ft. Phosphorus 167.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 11.6 µg/L. TSI 61.

Water quality readings
MeasureReadingWhere it sits
Water clarity (Secchi depth)6.9ftMeasured, not scored

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

Total phosphorus168µg/LMeasured, not scored

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

Chlorophyll-a (algae)11.6µg/LMeasured, not scored

The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water.

Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a.61Eutrophic
OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic

High nutrients, frequent algae, reduced clarity

Ask about Unnamed Lake

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

Water Temperature

Unnamed Lake typically sits around 68°F at the surface in September. Summer average is about 74°F. Usually warmest in Aug (about 76°F) and coldest in Sep (about 68°F). These are typical values by month — not a live reading.

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
72°
Jun
Jul
76°
Aug
68°
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

Column height runs from this lake’s coldest month (68°F) to its warmest (76°F).

Typical surface water temperature by month, from 11 field readings (2017–2023) via the EPA Water Quality Portal. See the full Unnamed Lake water temperature breakdown →

Lake Details

Max depth

~36 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 Unnamed Lake.

Lake Size & Watershed

Watershed (drainage) area

14 sq mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Surface area

99 acres

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Shoreline

1.7 mi

HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS

Elevation

1,099 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.

Stays via Stay22

Stays near Unnamed Lake

Compare lakeside cabins, hotels, and vacation rentals near Unnamed Lake in Big Stone County, Minnesota — live availability and prices for your trip. Switch the map to Satellite to see the lake and how close each stay is to the water.

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Prices for Oct 9–11, 4 adults. Change dates on the map below.

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Fishing Unnamed Lake

2 seasons of samples on record (2022–2023). Calling a direction takes at least 4 years of the same measurement.

  • Water clarity

    Improving

    2 years

  • Phosphorus

    Worsening

    +231 µg/L/yr2 years

  • Chlorophyll-a

    Worsening

    +19.1 µg/L/yr2 years

Nearby Lakes in Big Stone County

Frequently asked questions about Unnamed Lake

Where is Unnamed Lake?

Unnamed Lake is a lake in Big Stone County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.

What is the water quality of Unnamed Lake?

Unnamed Lake in Big Stone County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6.9 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 167.5 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 11.6 µg/L.

Measurements on this page ↑

Is Unnamed Lake safe to swim in?

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

Swimming on this page ↑

What is the water temperature of Unnamed Lake?

Unnamed Lake typically sits around 68°F at the surface in September, from 11 EPA Water Quality Portal field readings (2017–2023). That is a typical value for the month, not a live reading.

Temp on this page ↑

How deep is Unnamed Lake?

No published bathymetric survey covers Unnamed Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 36 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 Unnamed Lake?

Public access to Unnamed 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.

Where this data comes from

8 measurements from 2 monitoring stations, 2022–2023. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.

Collected and reported by

  • Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface WaterMNPCA8 samples · 2022–2023

Analytical methods

  • Field measurement/observation, generic method
  • Phosphorus by Colorimetry
  • 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
  • 2120 B ~ Color in Water by Visual Comparison
Monitoring station identifiers (2)

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