Every Lake
Indian Lake
460 acres, four miles of shoreline, fifty feet at its deepest point in southwestern Michigan.
- 8 ft · first step
- 16 ft
- 25 ft
- 33 ft
- 41 ft
- 50 ft · bottom
About Indian Lake
Indian Lake sits in southwestern Michigan near Benton Harbor, a roughly 460-acre body of water with about four miles of shoreline. Like most lakes in the region, its basin was carved out during the last glacial retreat, leaving a shoreline that curls rather than runs straight. Modeled depth data puts its deepest point near 50 feet, modest by Great Lakes standards but enough to support a distinct thermocline and cold-water refuge for fish in summer. The lake is small enough to cross by kayak in under an hour, which shapes how people use it.
The shoreline is lined mostly with year-round and seasonal homes, the kind of lake where docks outnumber public access points. Fishing runs to largemouth bass, bluegill, and crappie, and the lake sees more rowboats and pontoons than performance boats given its size. Benton Harbor and the surrounding Berrien County towns supply most of the traffic — retirees, weekend anglers, and families who've held the same cottage for decades. It's not a destination lake in the tourism-brochure sense; it's a working neighborhood lake, known locally more than regionally.
- 2 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 62 roads engraved around the shore, 10 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.
Indian Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Indian Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour. The lake covers about 0.7 square miles, and 62 shore roads are engraved around it. The shape of the bottom comes from a peer-reviewed bathymetry model of the lake.
A Indian Lake 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 Indian Lake 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 Indian Lake.
Indian Lake 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 Indian Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes — from GLOBathy, a peer-reviewed bathymetry dataset that estimates the bottom of every lake from its shoreline and surrounding terrain. Each layer of birch is a depth contour. Where a lake has a published sounding survey we use that instead, and we are adding surveys lake by lake.
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
- 0.7 square miles of water
- 62 shore roads engraved, 10 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
Keep reading
Guides from the people who cut these maps.
- Lake House Gifts That Actually Mean SomethingThoughtful lake house gifts and cabin gift ideas for Christmas: what lake people actually keep, how to choose a size, and how to word a personal line.
- Deepest Lakes in Michigan: Surveyed Depths and What Lies BelowWhich inland lakes in Michigan run deepest? Surveyed depths for Crystal, Mullett, Glen, Charlevoix and more, and how depth shapes color, fish and ice.
- Gifts for Fishermen Who Already Own Every LureUnique fishing gifts for the angler who has everything: a layered wood depth map of the lake they fish, with the structure they know by heart.
