IL · depth model

Loon Lake

A 39-foot hole in a 316-acre lake, four miles of shoreline, Lake County, Illinois.

12 inch$149Desk, bookshelf, hallway. The closing-gift size. · ≈ 3.2 lb 17 inch$249Over a sideboard or in a reading nook. · ≈ 6.3 lb 24 inch$399The over-the-mantel piece. Islands appear at this scale. · ≈ 12.6 lb 30 inch$599Statement wall. Two hangers, every town on the shore named. · ≈ 19.8 lb

Make it yours family name · a line of text · a star on your place

Family name on the title block A line under it Title block preview

Your place — a star and a name on the board

Add a laser-cut desk stand (12" and 17" only) +$29

Made to order in Waterford, PA. Ships in 7–10 days, free in the lower 48. Birch, 5 mm per layer, keyhole hanger built in. By ordering you agree to our terms — decorative art, not a navigational chart.

The layers of this board — each depth is engraved on its step

6 ft · first step
13 ft
19 ft
26 ft
32 ft
39 ft · bottom

44 ftmaximum depth · source

0.5square miles of water

6depth layers cut

62roads engraved on the 12"

2towns named

3.2 lbthe 12" on the wall (≈ 19.8 lb at 30")

The lake

About Loon Lake

Loon Lake sits in Lake County, Illinois, one of the natural lakes in the Chain O'Lakes region carved into the landscape by glacial meltwater at the end of the last ice age. The lake covers roughly 316 acres and connects, like its neighbors in the chain, to the Fox River waterway system that threads through northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. Its shoreline runs about four miles, ringed by a mix of year-round homes and lake cottages built up over the twentieth century as Chicago-area families started coming north for the water.

The lake's bottom drops to about 39 feet at its deepest point, a hole that stands out against the shallower flats typical of the Chain O'Lakes system. That depth, combined with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' stocking of walleye, muskie, and largemouth bass through the chain, has made Loon Lake a stop for anglers working the wider waterway. Weekend boat traffic runs between it and the connected lakes, and the town nearest its shore, Antioch, has long served as the supply point for people heading out onto the chain.

On the board

2 shore towns named, with a star on each
62 roads engraved around the shore, 13 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

Why we cut this one

Loon Lake is one of the lakes people ask us for by name — the kind of shoreline where the house has a name and the dock has a history. This board is cut from the same depth grid the configurator uses for all 104,419 lakes, so the shape is the real one.

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.

Depth chart

Loon Lake depth chart, in wood

This is a Loon Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 7 ft, 15 ft, 21 ft, 29 ft, 36 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 44 ft. The lake covers about 0.5 square miles, and 62 shore roads are engraved around it. The shape of the bottom comes from a peer-reviewed bathymetry model of the lake.

A Loon 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 Loon 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 Loon Lake.

Questions

Loon 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 Loon Lake; 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.

On this board

6 depth layers down to 44 ft
0.5 square miles of water
62 shore roads engraved, 13 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.

Gifts for Fishermen Who Already Own Every Lure
Unique 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.
Lake House Gifts That Actually Mean Something
Thoughtful 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.
Deepest Lakes in Michigan: Surveyed Depths and What Lies Below
Which inland lakes in Michigan run deepest? Surveyed depths for Crystal, Mullett, Glen, Charlevoix and more, and how depth shapes color, fish and ice.

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