Every Lake
Lake Erie
The shallow, stormy, walleye-rich Great Lake that four states and a province call home water.
- 34 ft · first step
- 68 ft
- 103 ft
- 137 ft
- 171 ft
- 205 ft · bottom
About Lake Erie
Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes and the one that behaves least like an ocean: an average depth of about 62 feet, a maximum of 210, and a bottom that drops in three distinct steps — the broad western basin off Toledo, the central plain, and the deep eastern basin that runs toward Buffalo. Because it is shallow it warms fast, freezes hard, and throws up short, steep waves that sailors respect more than anything on Superior.
The lake has been a highway for as long as people have lived beside it. The Erie people gave it their name; the French mapped it; in September 1813 Oliver Hazard Perry's squadron met the British off Put-in-Bay and sent back the six words every Ohio schoolchild learns: "We have met the enemy and they are ours." A century later the shore was steel, shipping and summer cottages, from Presque Isle's sand spit at Erie to the vineyards of the Lake Erie Concord belt.
It is also the most productive freshwater fishery in North America — the walleye capital of the world by its own reckoning — and the lake that came back. Written off in the 1960s, it is the reason the Clean Water Act exists, and today its islands, ferries and lighthouses are a summer circuit unto themselves.
- Toledo, Cleveland, Erie, Buffalo, Detroit and a dozen shore towns
- The Ohio Turnpike, I-90 and the 401 across the top
- Pelee, Kelleys and the Bass Islands appear at 24" and up
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.
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Lake Erie depth chart, in wood
This is a Lake Erie depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 34 ft, 68 ft, 103 ft, 137 ft, 171 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 205 ft. The lake covers about 10021.8 square miles, and 29510 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 Erie 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 Erie 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 Erie.
Lake Erie 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 Erie; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Lake Erie 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 205 ft
- 10021.8 square miles of water
- 29510 shore roads engraved, 2 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
