Every Lake
Canistear Reservoir
Built to hold Newark's water, not a boat launch: a branching reservoir in the Pequannock Watershed.
- 8 ft · first step
- 15 ft
- 23 ft
- 30 ft
- 38 ft
- 46 ft · bottom
About Canistear Reservoir
Canistear Reservoir sits in the Pequannock Watershed, a network of reservoirs New Jersey's largest cities built in the late 1800s and early 1900s to move mountain water toward Newark. The reservoir formed behind Canistear Dam, an earthen structure that backed up a tributary of the Pequannock River. Unlike lakes ringed with cottages, Canistear was built as infrastructure first: the surrounding land stayed forested and closed to development because it doubles as a drinking-water buffer, a status the watershed still holds today.
The reservoir lies in Sussex County near the Passaic County line, closer to West Milford and Vernon than to any lakefront town, well north of Paterson. Unlike New Jersey's cottage-lined recreational lakes, Canistear has no public boat launch, no marina, and no shoreline development; it functions as protected watershed land rather than a destination. Its outline follows the flooded stream valley it replaced rather than a natural basin, giving it the elongated, branching shape typical of dammed watershed reservoirs rather than the rounder basins glaciers left across the northern part of the state.
- 9 roads engraved around the shore, 2 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.
Canistear Reservoir depth chart, in wood
This is a Canistear Reservoir depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 8 ft, 15 ft, 23 ft, 30 ft, 38 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 46 ft. The lake covers about 0.5 square miles, and 9 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 Canistear Reservoir 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 Canistear Reservoir 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 Canistear Reservoir.
Canistear Reservoir 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 Canistear Reservoir; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Canistear Reservoir 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 46 ft
- 0.5 square miles of water
- 9 shore roads engraved, 2 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
