Every Lake
Pig's Eye Lake
The lake that gave St. Paul its first name: Pig's Eye, after a one-eyed whiskey trader.
- 7 ft · first step
- 13 ft
- 20 ft
- 26 ft
- 33 ft
- 40 ft · bottom
About Pig's Eye Lake
Pig's Eye Lake is a wide, shallow backwater of the Mississippi River on the east side of St. Paul, Minnesota. It takes its name from Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant, a fur trader and whiskey seller whose cabin stood near the site in the 1830s. The settlement that grew up around him was called Pig's Eye before residents renamed it St. Paul in 1841, after a chapel built for the city's patron saint. The lake kept the older name.
The lake's islands hold one of the largest great blue heron and egret rookeries in the Upper Midwest, protected as a state Scientific and Natural Area within the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area. It sits inside a working stretch of river, ringed by rail yards, barge terminals, and the city's wastewater treatment plant rather than by cabins or resorts. Anglers fish it for catfish and walleye, and paddlers use it as a quiet channel off the main current, a few miles downstream from downtown St. Paul.
- 21 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.
Pig's Eye Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Pig's Eye Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 7 ft, 13 ft, 20 ft, 26 ft, 33 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 40 ft. The lake covers about 1.0 square miles, and 21 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 Pig's Eye 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 Pig's Eye 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 Pig's Eye Lake.
Pig's Eye 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 Pig's Eye Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Pig's Eye Lake 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 40 ft
- 1.0 square miles of water
- 21 shore roads engraved, 3 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
