Every Lake
Lake Allegan
Consumers Power dammed the Kalamazoo River in 1949, backing water twenty miles into Allegan County farmland.
- 6 ft · first step
- 12 ft
- 18 ft
- 24 ft
- 30 ft
- 36 ft · bottom
About Lake Allegan
Lake Allegan is not a natural lake but a flowage, formed in 1949 when Consumers Power built a dam on the Kalamazoo River just downstream of the city of Allegan, Michigan, to generate hydroelectric power. The rising water filled the river valley, submerging bottomland and creating roughly 1,500 acres of open water with about twenty miles of shoreline, most of it in Allegan County southwest of Kalamazoo.
The lake borders the Allegan State Game Area, one of the larger public hunting and fishing tracts in the Lower Peninsula, which has kept much of its shoreline undeveloped compared to Michigan's natural lakes. Anglers work it for walleye, channel catfish, and panfish, and the dam's cold, oxygenated tailwater downstream draws its own following. Cottages and small marinas cluster near the city of Allegan, where the lake narrows back into the river channel.
- 2 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 198 roads engraved around the shore, 9 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 Allegan depth chart, in wood
This is a Lake Allegan depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 6 ft, 12 ft, 18 ft, 24 ft, 30 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 36 ft. The lake covers about 2.6 square miles, and 198 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 Allegan 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 Allegan 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 Allegan.
Lake Allegan 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 Allegan; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Lake Allegan 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 36 ft
- 2.6 square miles of water
- 198 shore roads engraved, 9 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
