Every Lake
Lake Denmark
The naval depot on its shore exploded July 10, 1926, and the Army absorbed its mission.
- 8 ft · first step
- 16 ft
- 25 ft
- 33 ft
- 41 ft
- 49 ft · bottom
About Lake Denmark
Lake Denmark sits inside Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. Army installation in Rockaway Township, Morris County, New Jersey, near the boroughs of Dover and Wharton. The lake lent its name to the Naval Ammunition Depot Lake Denmark, established on its shore in the 1890s to store gunpowder and later high explosives for the U.S. Navy. The depot's magazines lined the water's edge, connected by rail spurs to the surrounding arsenal grounds, making the lake a working industrial site rather than a resort from its earliest days.
On July 10, 1926, lightning struck one of the depot's magazines, setting off a chain of explosions that leveled buildings along the shore and could be heard for miles. Firefighters and sailors died battling the blazes before the last stores detonated. The disaster led the Navy to transfer its ammunition storage mission to the Army, which absorbed the depot into what became Picatinny Arsenal. The lake remains inside an active military installation today, closed to public recreation and surrounded by research and manufacturing facilities rather than lake houses.
- 7 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.
Lake Denmark depth chart, in wood
This is a Lake Denmark depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 8 ft, 16 ft, 25 ft, 33 ft, 41 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 49 ft. The lake covers about 0.6 square miles, and 7 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 Denmark 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 Denmark 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 Denmark.
Lake Denmark 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 Denmark; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Lake Denmark 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 49 ft
- 0.6 square miles of water
- 7 shore roads engraved, 3 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
