Every Lake
Lake Bird Island Chute
A river chute near New Iberia that scours to a modeled 277 feet in the Atchafalaya lowlands.
- 46 ft · first step
- 92 ft
- 138 ft
- 185 ft
- 231 ft
- 277 ft · bottom
About Lake Bird Island Chute
Bird Island Chute lies in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, near the town of New Iberia, in the network of bayous and secondary river channels that fringe the Atchafalaya Basin. A chute forms where moving water cuts a shortcut channel past a river bend or through a batture, and the current running through it digs a scour hole far deeper than the surrounding swamp. That geomorphology explains why a lake in this low, flat parish can carry a modeled depth of roughly 277 feet, a figure more typical of a glacial lake up north than a bayou-country channel.
New Iberia was settled by Spanish colonists in the 1770s and later filled in with Acadian and Creole families, and the parish still runs on sugarcane, crawfish, and the oil-field trades that work the Atchafalaya Basin. Camps along chutes like this one are used for bass and sac-au-lait fishing, duck hunting in winter, and running trotlines and crawfish traps in the flooded timber. The lake's 15,552 acres and roughly 71 miles of shoreline are mostly cypress-tupelo swamp and cut banks rather than open beach, reflecting its origin as a working river channel, not a built impoundment.
- 6 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 175 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.
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Lake Bird Island Chute depth chart, in wood
This is a Lake Bird Island Chute depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 46 ft, 92 ft, 138 ft, 185 ft, 231 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 277 ft. The lake covers about 25.4 square miles, and 175 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 Lake Bird Island Chute 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 Lake Bird Island Chute 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 Lake Bird Island Chute.
Lake Bird Island Chute 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 Lake Bird Island Chute; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Lake Bird Island Chute 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 277 ft
- 25.4 square miles of water
- 175 shore roads engraved, 2 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
