Upper Red Lake: Central

Upper Red Lake: Central pulls a D on the LakeGrade rubric — phosphorus loading and limited clarity hold it below the Minnesota average. Secchi readings are the weakest of the scored parameters, suggesting suspended sediment or algal biomass dominates the optical signal.

At a TSI of 62, Upper Red Lake: Central reads as eutrophic — nutrient-rich enough that summer algal growth and reduced clarity are expected, not unusual. Upper Red Lake: Central reaches 15 ft at its deepest point — typical for Minnesota mid-sized lakes, with seasonal stratification but limited cold-water refuge. With 119,294 acres of surface and 59.2 miles of shoreline, Upper Red Lake: Central is a large water by Minnesota standards — recreational pressure is spread across a long shoreline. Upper Red Lake: Central ranks 90 of 92 in Beltrami County — at the lower end of the locally monitored distribution.

Starry stonewort has been recorded at Upper Red Lake: Central — a relatively new invasive in Minnesota that forms dense, hard-to-remove mats. Walleye are documented at Upper Red Lake: Central, one of 15 fish species on record for the lake. No formal public access is documented at Upper Red Lake: Central — most use is by shoreline residents and their guests. The lake has a partial ice record — 16 observed ice-outs, centered near Apr 29. 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.