Every Lake
Crab Orchard Lake
Dammed in 1940 to feed a wartime ordnance plant, now a refuge for bald eagles
- 10 ft · first step
- 20 ft
- 30 ft
- 40 ft
- 49 ft
- 59 ft · bottom
About Crab Orchard Lake
Crab Orchard Lake was created in 1940 when the Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration built an earthen dam across Crab Orchard Creek in southern Illinois. The reservoir supplied water to the Illinois Ordnance Plant, which produced TNT and other munitions for the federal government during World War II. After the war, the surrounding land and water were transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which established Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge in 1947.
The refuge sits just south of Carbondale, Illinois, and the lake remains split by regulation into zones for unrestricted boating, no-wake fishing, and a wildlife sanctuary closed to entry part of the year. Anglers come for largemouth bass, crappie, and catfish, while the refuge is a winter stop for migrating Canada geese and one of the larger wintering bald eagle populations in the state. The old ordnance-plant grounds still house light industrial tenants under a federal lease arrangement unusual for a wildlife refuge.
- 8 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 686 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.
Crab Orchard Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Crab Orchard Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 10 ft, 20 ft, 30 ft, 40 ft, 49 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 59 ft. The lake covers about 11.4 square miles, and 686 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 Crab Orchard 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 Crab Orchard 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 Crab Orchard Lake.
Crab Orchard 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 Crab Orchard Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Crab Orchard 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 59 ft
- 11.4 square miles of water
- 686 shore roads engraved, 6 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
