Every Lake
Bucks Lake
A 1928 dam turned a Plumas Forest creek into 1,700 acres at 5,150 feet
- 21 ft · first step
- 42 ft
- 64 ft
- 85 ft
- 106 ft
- 127 ft · bottom
About Bucks Lake
Bucks Lake sits in Plumas National Forest in the northern Sierra Nevada, about seventeen miles west of Quincy, California, and roughly sixty miles northeast of Chico. It is not a natural lake but a reservoir, formed when Great Western Power Company built a dam across Bucks Creek in 1928 to feed a hydroelectric powerhouse downstream on the Feather River. The utility later merged into Pacific Gas and Electric, which still operates the dam and powerhouse as part of its Bucks Creek hydroelectric project.
The lake sits at about 5,150 feet elevation, which keeps its water cold enough to support rainbow and brown trout, kokanee salmon, and a run of mackinaw. Bucks Lake Lodge and a scatter of small resorts along the shoreline have served anglers and boaters since the mid-twentieth century, and the surrounding forest draws deer hunters in fall and snowmobilers once the road closes for winter. The adjoining Bucks Lake Wilderness, added in 1984, protects the ridgeline above the reservoir's south shore from further development.
- 4 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 48 roads engraved around the shore, 1 of them labeled
- 6 depth layers, each step engraved with its depth in feet
- Compass rose, title block with coordinates, max depth and area; keyhole hanger on the back
Turn it in your hands
Live 3D of the actual cut files — drag to orbit, pinch to zoom. Every road you see is engraved on the real thing.
Viewer not showing? Open it full screen.
Bucks Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Bucks Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 21 ft, 42 ft, 64 ft, 85 ft, 106 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 127 ft. The lake covers about 2.8 square miles, and 48 shore roads are engraved around it. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Bucks Lake map for the wall — or a gift
Most of these go to a cabin wall, a lake house entry, or a home office; a lot are gifts — the family that has been on Bucks Lake for three generations, the retirement move, the first boat. The 12-inch is the desk-and-shelf size; the 24- and 30-inch boards read across a room. Add a line under the title and star your place on the shore, and it becomes the map of your Bucks Lake.
Bucks Lake map — the details
How big is the map?
Four sizes: 12, 17, 24 and 30 inches on the long side, from $149. Every size is cut from the same depth data of Bucks Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Bucks Lake is cut layer by layer from published bathymetric soundings — each layer of birch is a depth contour, so the shape of the bottom is the real one, not decorative.
Can I add my own place on it?
Yes. At checkout you can add a line under the title (a family name, a cabin name, a year) and star the spot on the shore that matters to you.
How long does it take?
Made to order in Waterford, Pennsylvania and shipped in 7–10 days; shipping is free in the lower 48.
Can you make a lake that isn't listed?
Any lake in the United States — we hold depth data for 104,419 of them. Search for yours; if it isn't built yet we build it when you order.
- 6 depth layers down to 127 ft
- 2.8 square miles of water
- 48 shore roads engraved, 1 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
