Every Lake
Lake Quannapowitt
A glacial kettle pond in Wakefield where ice cutters once worked the winter surface
- 7 ft · first step
- 14 ft
- 21 ft
- 28 ft
- 35 ft
- 42 ft · bottom
About Lake Quannapowitt
Lake Quannapowitt formed as a kettle lake when a buried block of glacial ice melted at the end of the last ice age, leaving a rounded basin north of Boston. It sits in Wakefield, Massachusetts, bordered by Reading and Melrose, and for much of the 1800s the lake supported a commercial ice harvesting trade, with blocks cut, stored in lakeside icehouses, and shipped out by rail before mechanical refrigeration made the practice obsolete.
Today the lake is known less for industry than for the paved path that circles its roughly three miles of shoreline, used daily by walkers, runners, and commuters cutting between neighborhoods. Wakefield's sailing club has run boats on the water for well over a century, and local high school and club rowing teams train on it from a boathouse on the shore. At about 237 acres and a modeled maximum depth near 42 feet, it's shallow enough to freeze solid most winters, which once made the ice trade possible and still draws skaters when conditions allow.
- 2 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 121 roads engraved around the shore, 17 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.
Lake Quannapowitt depth chart, in wood
This is a Lake Quannapowitt 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 0.4 square miles, and 121 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 Quannapowitt 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 Quannapowitt 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 Quannapowitt.
Lake Quannapowitt 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 Quannapowitt; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Lake Quannapowitt 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
- 0.4 square miles of water
- 121 shore roads engraved, 17 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
