Every Lake
Hemlock Lake
Rochester has drawn its drinking water from this lake since 1876, and never allowed a dock.
- 10 ft · first step
- 21 ft
- 31 ft
- 42 ft
- 52 ft
- 62 ft · bottom
About Hemlock Lake
Hemlock Lake sits in a narrow trough carved by glaciers at the end of the last ice age, stretching roughly seven miles between Livingston and Ontario counties in western New York. It is one of the smaller Finger Lakes, paired with neighboring Canadice Lake a few miles east. The lake covers about 1,917 acres and reaches a modeled depth near 62 feet, draining north into Hemlock Creek. The surrounding hills stay forested rather than farmed, a pattern set more by policy than by geology, and the hamlet of Hemlock sits at the lake's north end.
In 1876 the city of Rochester began buying land around Hemlock Lake to protect it as a drinking-water source, and within decades the shoreline cabins and hotels that had served summer visitors were bought out and removed. Motorboats are still banned, and building is restricted along most of the shore, which keeps the lake looking largely as it did a century ago. Anglers fish for trout and bass from canoes and small boats, and hikers use the watershed roads that ring the lake. Rochester, about twenty-five miles north, still draws part of its water supply from Hemlock and Canadice.
- 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.
Hemlock Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Hemlock Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 10 ft, 21 ft, 31 ft, 42 ft, 52 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 62 ft. The lake covers about 3.1 square miles. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Hemlock 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 Hemlock 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 Hemlock Lake.
Hemlock 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 Hemlock Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Hemlock 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 62 ft
- 3.1 square miles of water
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
