Every Lake
Silver Lake
Six miles of shoreline packed into 447 acres, 54 feet down, outside Pontiac.
- 9 ft · first step
- 18 ft
- 27 ft
- 36 ft
- 45 ft
- 54 ft · bottom
About Silver Lake
Silver Lake sits in Waterford Township, Oakland County, in the belt of kettle lakes left behind when the Wisconsin glacier retreated from southeastern Michigan. The retreating ice left blocks buried in outwash that melted slowly, carving basins like this one into the till. Oakland County holds more than 1,400 named lakes from the same process, and Silver Lake is one of the smaller, denser ones packed into Waterford's township lines, a few miles northwest of downtown Pontiac.
The lake covers about 447 acres with roughly six miles of shoreline and a maximum depth near 54 feet, modest compared to the larger lakes nearby but enough to hold panfish, bass, and a year-round population of anglers. Houses ring most of the shore, a mix of older cottages built when Pontiac's auto plants were still running three shifts and newer year-round homes that replaced them. Waterford Township manages public access, and the lake stays busy with small boats rather than open-water traffic.
- 178 roads engraved around the shore, 14 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.
Silver Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Silver Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 12 ft, 24 ft, 36 ft, 49 ft, 61 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 73 ft. The lake covers about 0.8 square miles, and 178 shore roads are engraved around it. The shape of the bottom comes from a peer-reviewed bathymetry model of the lake.
A Silver 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 Silver 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 Silver Lake.
Silver 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 Silver 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 down to 73 ft
- 0.8 square miles of water
- 178 shore roads engraved, 14 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.
