Every Lake
Spot Pond
A 259-acre reservoir north of Boston that once held the city's drinking water.
- 8 ft · first step
- 16 ft
- 25 ft
- 33 ft
- 41 ft
- 49 ft · bottom
About Spot Pond
Spot Pond sits in the Middlesex Fells Reservation, straddling Stoneham, Medford, and Winchester just north of Boston. The Metropolitan Water Board dammed and raised it in the 1890s as part of Boston's early public water system, and it served as a drinking-water supply into the 20th century before that role passed to other reservoirs. Its name reportedly comes from the scattering of small islands and rocky outcrops visible across its surface, a pattern early surveyors noted when charting the pond.
Today the pond sits inside a state-run reservation managed by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, ringed by trails used by Stoneham and Medford residents for walking, fishing, and small-boat paddling. Motorized boats are barred, which keeps traffic to canoes, kayaks, and rowboats. The Fells' wooded hills and rock outcrops come down close to the shoreline in places, and the pond's several small islands remain a distinguishing feature of its shape on any map of the area.
- 54 roads engraved around the shore, 3 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.
Spot Pond depth chart, in wood
This is a Spot Pond depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 8 ft, 16 ft, 25 ft, 33 ft, 41 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 49 ft. The lake covers about 0.4 square miles, and 54 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 Spot 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 Spot 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 Spot Pond.
Spot 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 Spot Pond; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Spot 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 49 ft
- 0.4 square miles of water
- 54 shore roads engraved, 3 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
