Every Lake
Great Herring Pond
The pond herring still climb every spring to reach it.
- 7 ft · first step
- 14 ft
- 21 ft
- 28 ft
- 35 ft
- 42 ft · bottom
About Great Herring Pond
Great Herring Pond formed as a kettle hole left by retreating glacial ice at the end of the last ice age, roughly 15,000 years ago, in southeastern Massachusetts near New Bedford. Covering about 361 acres with roughly 5 miles of shoreline, it sits low enough in the coastal plain that its outlet stream still connects it to tidal water, a feature that shaped how people used the pond for centuries.
The pond takes its name from the annual herring run, when alewife and blueback herring leave the ocean each spring and swim upstream to spawn in its waters, a migration that supported fisheries for the Wampanoag people and later colonial settlers who built weirs and herring houses along the outlet. Today the pond draws freshwater anglers, kayakers, and cottage owners from the surrounding towns, with the herring run still managed and counted each spring.
- 83 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.
Great Herring Pond depth chart, in wood
This is a Great Herring Pond depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 7 ft, 14 ft, 21 ft, 28 ft, 35 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 42 ft. The lake covers about 0.6 square miles, and 83 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 Great Herring 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 Great Herring 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 Great Herring Pond.
Great Herring 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 Great Herring Pond; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Great Herring 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 42 ft
- 0.6 square miles of water
- 83 shore roads engraved, 5 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
