Every Lake
Lake Cunningham
Dug from a borrow pit to build the freeways around it, 106 acres deep in East San Jose.
- 5 ft · first step
- 10 ft
- 14 ft
- 19 ft
- 24 ft
- 29 ft · bottom
About Lake Cunningham
Lake Cunningham sits in East San Jose's Evergreen neighborhood, inside Lake Cunningham Regional Park. The lake is artificial, excavated when the city needed fill dirt for freeway construction nearby, and what was left behind became a 106-acre basin ringed by open parkland rather than a natural shoreline. It holds water year-round and reaches a modeled depth of about 29 feet, shallow next to the glacial lakes it sometimes gets mistaken for on a map.
The lake is stocked for fishing and popular with radio-controlled boat clubs that race model sailboats and powerboats across it on weekends. Raging Waters, the region's water park, sits along its edge, and a large public skate park borders the same stretch of grass. Paddleboats and small non-motorized craft are allowed on the water; gas engines are not. Families from the surrounding Evergreen and East San Jose neighborhoods use the park's trails and picnic areas as much as the lake itself, treating it as scenery for a larger park.
- 25 roads engraved around the shore, 6 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.
Lake Cunningham depth chart, in wood
This is a Lake Cunningham depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour. The lake covers about 0.2 square miles, and 25 shore roads are engraved around it. The shape of the bottom comes from a peer-reviewed bathymetry model of the lake.
A Lake Cunningham 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 Lake Cunningham 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 Lake Cunningham.
Lake Cunningham 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 Lake Cunningham; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes — from GLOBathy, a peer-reviewed bathymetry dataset that estimates the bottom of every lake from its shoreline and surrounding terrain. Each layer of birch is a depth contour. Where a lake has a published sounding survey we use that instead, and we are adding surveys lake by lake.
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
- 0.2 square miles of water
- 25 shore roads engraved, 6 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
Keep reading
Guides from the people who cut these maps.
- Lake House Gifts That Actually Mean SomethingThoughtful lake house gifts and cabin gift ideas for Christmas: what lake people actually keep, how to choose a size, and how to word a personal line.
- Gifts for Fishermen Who Already Own Every LureUnique fishing gifts for the angler who has everything: a layered wood depth map of the lake they fish, with the structure they know by heart.
- Deepest Lakes in Michigan: Surveyed Depths and What Lies BelowWhich inland lakes in Michigan run deepest? Surveyed depths for Crystal, Mullett, Glen, Charlevoix and more, and how depth shapes color, fish and ice.
