Every Lake
Lake Awosting
Awosting sits 1,200 feet up in the Shawangunks, filled entirely by rain and snow.
- 4 ft · first step
- 8 ft
- 12 ft
- 16 ft
- 19 ft
- 23 ft · bottom
About Lake Awosting
Lake Awosting formed in a sandstone basin high in the Shawangunk Ridge, within what is now Minnewaska State Park Preserve near New Paltz and Poughkeepsie, New York. It is a perched lake, meaning it has no significant inlet stream and is fed almost entirely by precipitation and groundwater seepage through the surrounding conglomerate rock. This geology gives the water its notable clarity and a tea-colored tint from surrounding hemlock and pine tannins. The lake sits at roughly 1,866 feet in elevation, making it one of the highest of the Shawangunk sky lakes.
The area around Awosting was logged and quarried for millstones in the 1800s before the Minnewaska resort era drew visitors to the ridge's cliffside carriage roads. Today the lake is reached only on foot or bike via old carriage roads, with no motorized boats and swimming restricted to a designated area. Visitors are hikers, climbers headed to the surrounding cliffs, and trail runners rather than lakefront residents, since no private development sits on its shore. The preserve's dark, mineral-poor water and surrounding pitch pine barrens are managed by New York State as part of the Shawangunk Ridge conservation lands.
- 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 Awosting depth chart, in wood
This is a Lake Awosting depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 4 ft, 8 ft, 12 ft, 16 ft, 19 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 23 ft. The lake covers about 0.1 square miles. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Lake Awosting 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 Awosting 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 Awosting.
Lake Awosting 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 Awosting; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Lake Awosting 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 23 ft
- 0.1 square miles of water
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
