Every Lake
Chautauqua Lake
Seventeen miles of summer: the Institution, the Bemus–Stow ferry and the best musky water in the East.
- 13 ft · first step
- 25 ft
- 38 ft
- 50 ft
- 63 ft
- 75 ft · bottom
About Chautauqua Lake
Chautauqua is two lakes joined at a narrows — a deep northern basin and a shallow, weedy southern one — sitting at 1,308 feet, higher than the Erie shore a few miles north and draining the other way, south into the Allegheny and eventually the Gulf of Mexico. The name is Seneca, and the usual gloss is "bag tied in the middle," which is exactly what the outline looks like.
In 1874 a Methodist minister and an Akron businessman opened a summer school for Sunday-school teachers on the northwest shore. It became the Chautauqua Institution, the model for hundreds of "Chautauquas" across the country, and the reason the word means a summer of lectures, music and porches. Nine presidents have spoken there.
Between the Institution's gates and Jamestown at the foot of the lake are the things regulars measure a summer by: the Bemus Point–Stow ferry, which has crossed the narrows since 1811; the steamboat landings that became Lakewood and Celoron; and muskellunge fishing that has drawn anglers for a century and a half.
- Chautauqua, Bemus Point, Stow, Mayville, Lakewood, Celoron, Jamestown
- Route 394 and 430 along both shores, the I-86 bridge at the narrows
- Twenty-two named roads on the 12"
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.
Chautauqua Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Chautauqua Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 13 ft, 25 ft, 38 ft, 50 ft, 63 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 75 ft. The lake covers about 21.1 square miles, and 2204 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 Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua Lake.
Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Chautauqua 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 75 ft
- 21.1 square miles of water
- 2204 shore roads engraved, 14 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
