Every Lake
Catahoula Lake
Louisiana's Catahoula Lake fills each winter and empties each summer, a Ramsar wetland on the Mississippi Flyway.
- 43 ft · first step
- 86 ft
- 129 ft
- 172 ft
- 215 ft
- 259 ft · bottom
About Catahoula Lake
Catahoula Lake sits in LaSalle Parish, Louisiana, north of Alexandria, fed by the Little River and tied into the Red River basin. Unlike a dammed reservoir, it rises and falls with the seasons: full through winter, nearly dry by late summer, when farmers historically grazed cattle and planted crops on the exposed lakebed. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the Catahoula Diversion Canal in the 1930s to help manage that cycle, cutting a channel linking the lake to the Ouachita River system.
The lake's wet season draws hundreds of thousands of migratory ducks and geese along the Mississippi Flyway, and in 1991 it was named a Wetland of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention, one of the few such sites in Louisiana. Duck camps and hunting clubs have worked its shallow water for generations, and the surrounding parish gave its name to the Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog, the state dog, bred locally to work cattle in the pine and bottomland country nearby.
- 4 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 328 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.
Catahoula Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Catahoula Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 43 ft, 86 ft, 129 ft, 172 ft, 215 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 259 ft. The lake covers about 24.6 square miles, and 328 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 Catahoula 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 Catahoula 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 Catahoula Lake.
Catahoula 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 Catahoula Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Catahoula 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 259 ft
- 24.6 square miles of water
- 328 shore roads engraved, 5 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
