| Grindstone Lake,
located in Pine County 6 miles west of Sandstone, is one of
the deepest lake basins in Minnesota and is an anomaly in a
region dominated by 6 to 12 m deep lakes. The lake basin was
scoured out by glacial erosion which removed sedimentary material
that had been deposited in the pre-glacial bedrock valley. Grindstone
is long and narrow, about a half mile wide, 2 miles long, and
very deep. The deepest hole is 47 m deep. The lake has an average
depth of 22 m, much deeper than any other lake in this region.
See the lake summary tables
for additional watershed and water quality information. See
data summary-limnology overview for an overview of Grindstone
Lake for 1999.
The lake's watershed area of 5,079 ha (12,544 acres) is primarily
undeveloped, consisting primarily of forest, wetland, water,
and agriculture. Most of the homes are along the north, west,
and south ends of the lake. The eastern shore has very little
development.
Grindstone is a "two-story" lake, meaning it contains
habitat for both warm and cold water fish. The lake originally
only had only warm water fish but has been stocked and maintained
as a trout fishery. The trout are able to live in the deep,
cold regions of the lake because oxic (containing oxygen)
conditions persist down to ~33 m, even through the summer
months.
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