Every Lake
Mono Lake
Formed at least 760,000 years ago, saltier than the ocean, with no fish at all.
- 28 ft · first step
- 56 ft
- 84 ft
- 112 ft
- 140 ft
- 168 ft · bottom
About Mono Lake
Mono Lake sits in a basin east of the Sierra Nevada near Lee Vining, formed by faulting and volcanic activity going back at least 760,000 years, making it one of the oldest lakes in North America. It has no outlet; water leaves only by evaporation, which concentrates salts and minerals over time. The lake is roughly two and a half times as salty as the ocean. Streams once fed it from the Sierra snowpack, and the surrounding basin includes cinder cones from the Mono-Inyo volcanic chain, some active within the last few hundred years.
In 1941 the city of Los Angeles began diverting the streams that fed Mono Lake into the Los Angeles Aqueduct, and the lake's level dropped roughly 45 feet over the following four decades, exposing the calcium-carbonate tufa towers now visible along the south shore. The Mono Lake Committee, founded in 1978, and a 1994 State Water Resources Control Board decision forced Los Angeles to reduce diversions and let the lake rise toward a mandated level. The lake supports no fish but hosts enormous populations of alkali flies and brine shrimp, which draw nesting California gulls and migrating phalaropes each year. Lee Vining and Bishop serve as gateways for visitors.
- 4 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 113 roads engraved around the shore, 2 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.
Mono Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Mono Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 28 ft, 56 ft, 84 ft, 112 ft, 140 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 168 ft. The lake covers about 72.6 square miles, and 113 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 Mono 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 Mono 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 Mono Lake.
Mono 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 Mono Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Mono 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 168 ft
- 72.6 square miles of water
- 113 shore roads engraved, 2 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
