Every Lake
Cliff Pond
A kettle pond scooped out by melting ice, now inside Nickerson State Park on Cape Cod
- 10 ft · first step
- 20 ft
- 30 ft
- 41 ft
- 51 ft
- 61 ft · bottom
About Cliff Pond
Cliff Pond sits inside Nickerson State Park in Brewster, on Cape Cod. It is a kettle pond, formed when a block of glacial ice buried in sand and gravel outwash was left behind as the last ice sheet retreated, then melted in place to leave a basin that filled with groundwater. The pond has no inlet or outlet stream; its level rises and falls with the water table around it. Covering about 217 acres with roughly four miles of shoreline, it ranks among the larger kettle ponds on the Cape, bordered mostly by pitch pine and oak woods inside the park's boundary.
Nickerson State Park built its campground around Cliff Pond, and the pond is the park's main swimming and paddling water. It has a swimming beach, a boat ramp, and seasonal canoe and kayak rentals, and it lies just off the Cape Cod Rail Trail, which cuts through the park. Anglers fish it for largemouth bass and stocked trout. The clarity people notice comes from groundwater feed rather than stream runoff, a trait shared by the Cape's other kettle ponds, and it draws a mix of campers, day-trippers from Brewster and Orleans, and cyclists stopping off the trail.
- 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.
Cliff Pond depth chart, in wood
This is a Cliff Pond depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 10 ft, 20 ft, 30 ft, 41 ft, 51 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 61 ft. The lake covers about 0.4 square miles. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Cliff Pond 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 Cliff Pond 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 Cliff Pond.
Cliff Pond 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 Cliff Pond; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Cliff Pond 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 61 ft
- 0.4 square miles of water
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
