Every Lake
Lake Perris
Terminus of the East Branch aqueduct, holding Sacramento Delta water for Southern California.
- 12 ft · first step
- 25 ft
- 37 ft
- 49 ft
- 62 ft
- 74 ft · bottom
About Lake Perris
Lake Perris is a reservoir, not a natural lake. Perris Dam was completed in 1973 as the final storage point on the East Branch of the California Aqueduct, part of the State Water Project. Water pumped from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta travels roughly 400 miles south before settling here, in the hills east of Moreno Valley in Riverside County. The surrounding land became Lake Perris State Recreation Area, opened the same decade, giving inland Southern California a large body of water without a natural watershed feeding it.
The lake covers about 2,098 acres and reaches a maximum depth near 74 feet, making it deep enough for scuba training in a region with few inland dive sites. Bass anglers fish it year-round, and its open water draws sailboats and windsurfers from Riverside and Moreno Valley on weekends. After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, engineers found the dam's foundation vulnerable to liquefaction, and the reservoir was drawn down for years while the embankment was reinforced.
- 108 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 Perris depth chart, in wood
This is a Lake Perris depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 12 ft, 25 ft, 37 ft, 49 ft, 62 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 74 ft. The lake covers about 3.4 square miles, and 108 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 Lake Perris 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 Perris 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 Perris.
Lake Perris 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 Perris; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Lake Perris 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 74 ft
- 3.4 square miles of water
- 108 shore roads engraved, 6 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
