Every Lake
Billy Chinook Lake
Formed in 1964 when Round Butte Dam backed up three rivers into one canyon lake.
- 16 ft · first step
- 33 ft
- 49 ft
- 66 ft
- 82 ft
- 99 ft · bottom
About Billy Chinook Lake
Lake Billy Chinook formed in 1964, when Portland General Electric completed Round Butte Dam on the Deschutes River near the town of Culver, in Jefferson County. The reservoir backs up water into three separate canyons at once, since the Crooked River, the Deschutes River, and the Metolius River all converge inside the lake, each still visible as its own arm with its own basalt walls. The lake is named for Chief Billy Chinook, a Wasco guide who worked with early expeditions along the Columbia River in the 1840s. Cove Palisades State Park now surrounds the reservoir's main basin.
Houseboats are the defining way to see the lake, based out of marinas and campgrounds inside Cove Palisades State Park, tied up in the sheltered canyon arms where the water stays calm. The lake draws anglers for kokanee salmon and bull trout, both suited to the cold, deep water that flows in from the Metolius arm. Towns nearby are small — Culver and Metolius sit closest, with Bend the nearest city of any size to the south. Rimrock canyon walls rise on both sides of the reservoir, the same cliffs that once framed the free-flowing rivers before the dam went in.
- 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.
Billy Chinook Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Billy Chinook Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 16 ft, 33 ft, 49 ft, 66 ft, 82 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 99 ft. The lake covers about 6.3 square miles. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Billy Chinook 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 Billy Chinook 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 Billy Chinook Lake.
Billy Chinook 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 Billy Chinook Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Billy Chinook 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 99 ft
- 6.3 square miles of water
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
