Every Lake
Coralville Lake
A 1958 flood-control dam whose 1993 flood exposed 375-million-year-old fossil beds
- 10 ft · first step
- 20 ft
- 30 ft
- 40 ft
- 50 ft
- 60 ft · bottom
About Coralville Lake
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed the dam on the Iowa River in 1958, creating a reservoir a few miles north of Iowa City. The project was built primarily for flood control on the Iowa River basin, with recreation and water supply as secondary purposes. The reservoir takes its name from the town of Coralville, and its shoreline reaches into Johnson County, including North Liberty and Solon. The lake sits close enough to the University of Iowa that students and staff use it for sailing, rowing, and weekend fishing trips.
In July 1993, record rainfall pushed the reservoir over its emergency spillway for the first time, and the floodwater scoured away soil to expose bedrock laid down about 375 million years ago during the Devonian period. The exposed rock, now called Devonian Fossil Gorge, contains brachiopods, corals, and other marine fossils and draws geology students and collectors each year. The lake remains popular with local sailing clubs and bass anglers, and its campgrounds and beaches serve day-trippers from Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty through the summer months.
- 2 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 1,027 roads engraved around the shore, 5 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.
Coralville Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Coralville Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 10 ft, 20 ft, 30 ft, 40 ft, 50 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 60 ft. The lake covers about 5.6 square miles, and 1027 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 Coralville 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 Coralville 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 Coralville Lake.
Coralville 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 Coralville Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Coralville 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 60 ft
- 5.6 square miles of water
- 1027 shore roads engraved, 5 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
