What are mesotrophic lakes in Minnesota?

577 mesotrophic lakes in Minnesota. Moderate nutrients, good water quality.

What does mesotrophic mean?

Moderate nutrients, good water quality.

Mesotrophic Lakes in Minnesota

Most well-managed working lakes register as mesotrophic — the band that balances productivity with clarity. 577 lakes in Minnesota sit in the mesotrophic band. About 29% are deep (50+ ft); the rest are shallower basins where watershed management keeps nutrients from pushing the system into eutrophy.

Mesotrophic lakes sit in the middle of the phosphorus and chlorophyll-a range: productive but still clear, with readings that rarely reach the EPA's poorest condition class.

#	Lake	County	Clarity	Depth	TSI
1	Crane Lake	Otter Tail	9 ft	43 ft	46
2	Lobster Lake	Douglas	13 ft	65 ft	44
3	Clearwater Lake	Wright	9.8 ft	73 ft	47
4	Clearwater Lake	Crow Wing	13 ft	54 ft	41
5	Clearwater Lake	Clearwater	10 ft	65 ft	43
6	Little Birch Lake	Todd	13 ft	89 ft	43
7	North Long Lake	Crow Wing	15.1 ft	97 ft	40
8	Mud Lake	Becker	12.5 ft	34 ft	46
9	Big Lake	Beltrami	9.7 ft	35 ft	45
10	Big Lake	Carlton	10 ft	25 ft	43
11	Big Lake	Sherburne	13.6 ft	48 ft	42
12	Big Lake	St. Louis	8.2 ft	22 ft	45
13	Pelican Lake	Otter Tail	16.4 ft	55 ft	40
14	Birch Lake	Ramsey	5.9 ft	-	47
15	Birch Lake	Wright	15 ft	52 ft	42
16	Birch Lake	Cass	14 ft	45 ft	41
17	Round Lake	Crow Wing	13.5 ft	51 ft	42
18	Round Lake	Otter Tail	11.2 ft	24 ft	45
19	Round Lake	Becker	10 ft	69 ft	44
20	Round Lake	Anoka	8.9 ft	-	46
21	Whitefish Lake	Crow Wing	14.4 ft	138 ft	40
22	Whitefish Lake	Beltrami	12.5 ft	30 ft	42
23	Horseshoe Lake	Crow Wing	14.4 ft	56 ft	40
24	Horseshoe Lake	Cass	8.9 ft	12 ft	44
25	Horseshoe Lake	Isanti	3.5 ft	-	47
26	Farm Lake	Lake	5.5 ft	56 ft	47
27	Washburn Lake	Cass	14.1 ft	111 ft	40
28	Long Lake	Stearns	13.5 ft	28 ft	44
29	Long Lake	Kandiyohi	10.5 ft	46 ft	43
30	Long Lake	Otter Tail	12.3 ft	128 ft	44
31	Long Lake	Hubbard	11.2 ft	135 ft	42
32	Long Lake	Otter Tail	12.1 ft	88 ft	45
33	Long Lake	Beltrami	10 ft	83 ft	45
34	Long Lake	Otter Tail	11.6 ft	73 ft	44
35	Dead Lake	Otter Tail	10.2 ft	65 ft	46
36	Unnamed Lake	Crow Wing	6.6 ft	-	47
37	Unnamed Lake	Nicollet	5.6 ft	35 ft	48
38	Unnamed Lake	Sherburne	13 ft	43 ft	44
39	Maple Lake	Douglas	14.1 ft	78 ft	41
40	West Twin Lake	Cook	9.8 ft	37 ft	41
41	Shallow Lake	Hubbard	8.2 ft	10 ft	42
42	Detroit Lake	Becker	14 ft	89 ft	42
43	Sallie Lake	Becker	13 ft	50 ft	45
44	Deer Lake	Beltrami	11 ft	42 ft	44
45	Deer Lake	Otter Tail	12.3 ft	26 ft	45
46	Deer Lake	Itasca	8.9 ft	50 ft	46
47	Deer Lake	Hubbard	12.8 ft	9 ft	42
48	Chippewa Lake	Douglas	14.8 ft	95 ft	41
49	Twin Lake	Washington	13 ft	-	41
50	Otter Lake	Ramsey	11.5 ft	21 ft	44
51	Lida Lake	Otter Tail	14 ft	58 ft	45
52	Five Island Lake	Itasca	13 ft	33 ft	41
53	Big Spunk Lake	Stearns	10 ft	38 ft	43
54	Florida Lake	Kandiyohi	12.3 ft	40 ft	44
55	Clear Lake	Aitkin	15 ft	24 ft	41
56	Clear Lake	Washington	14 ft	27 ft	42
57	Garden Lake	Lake	5 ft	55 ft	48
58	Marion Lake	Dakota	7 ft	21 ft	47
59	Sullivan Lake	Morrison	10.8 ft	57 ft	44
60	Emerald Lake	Beltrami	9.5 ft	-	42
61	Vermont Lake	Douglas	14.1 ft	59 ft	41
62	Eagle Lake	Hubbard	11.2 ft	77 ft	44
63	Eagle Lake	Kandiyohi	6.9 ft	67 ft	49
64	Darling Lake	Douglas	14 ft	62 ft	43
65	Mantrap Lake	Hubbard	12 ft	-	44
66	Ida Lake	Douglas	16.4 ft	106 ft	40
67	Ida Lake	Becker	12.1 ft	20 ft	46
68	Ida Lake	Wright	13.1 ft	60 ft	42
69	Star Lake	Otter Tail	17 ft	94 ft	40
70	Upper Maple Lake	Wright	17.2 ft	76 ft	41
71	Fish Lake	Chisago	9.4 ft	57 ft	43
72	Sand Lake	Itasca	13.2 ft	60 ft	42
73	Little Pine Lake	Crow Wing	10 ft	36 ft	46
74	Norway Lake	Cass	6.9 ft	12 ft	48
75	Union Lake	Polk	15 ft	-	40
76	Snail Lake	Ramsey	11 ft	30 ft	45
77	Shell Lake	Becker	7.3 ft	16 ft	48
78	Andrusia Lake	Beltrami	15.1 ft	60 ft	41
79	Green Lake	Kandiyohi	14.1 ft	110 ft	42
80	Green Lake	Beltrami	12 ft	-	40
81	Upper Gull Lake	Cass	9.5 ft	54 ft	47
82	Little Toad Lake	Becker	15 ft	65 ft	44
83	Leech Lake	Cass	12.5 ft	-	40
84	Bass Lake	Crow Wing	13 ft	27 ft	45
85	Bass Lake	Wright	13.5 ft	34 ft	41
86	Bass Lake	Mahnomen	13.1 ft	26 ft	41
87	Bass Lake	Becker	12.8 ft	48 ft	43
88	Island Lake	Cass	15.5 ft	45 ft	42
89	Island Lake	Becker	15 ft	38 ft	42
90	Island Lake	Hubbard	10.5 ft	65 ft	46
91	Island Lake	Cass	8.2 ft	-	46
92	Island Lake	Clearwater	14.1 ft	58 ft	41
93	Moose Lake	Wright	14.4 ft	43 ft	40
94	Moose Lake	Itasca	8 ft	52 ft	48
95	Crooked Lake	Stearns	15.5 ft	35 ft	40
96	Crooked Lake	Douglas	14 ft	35 ft	45
97	Crooked Lake	Lake	3 ft	4 ft	48
98	Crooked Lake	Cass	12 ft	74 ft	42
99	Portage Lake	Cook	8.5 ft	55 ft	42
100	Portage Lake	Crow Wing	11.5 ft	37 ft	42

All mesotrophic lakes →Wisconsin version →Illinois version →Michigan version →Iowa version →Ohio version →Pennsylvania version →New York version →Missouri version →Indiana version →North Dakota version →South Dakota version →Florida version →Colorado version →North Carolina version →Vermont version →Texas version →Oregon version →Arkansas version →Oklahoma version →Kansas version →Nebraska version →Nevada version →Arizona version →Idaho version →Montana version →New Mexico version →Tennessee version →Alabama version →Virginia version →Kentucky version →Utah version →Washington version →Wyoming version →Georgia version →Massachusetts version →Ontario version →Québec version →Nova Scotia version →British Columbia version →Newfoundland and Labrador version →All Minnesota lakes →

Source: EPA National Aquatic Resource Surveys, 2026.