Every Lake
Sheldon Lake
Houston Lighting & Power dammed Carpenters Bayou in 1942 to supply wartime industry.
- 5 ft · first step
- 11 ft
- 16 ft
- 22 ft
- 27 ft
- 33 ft · bottom
About Sheldon Lake
Houston Lighting and Power Company built Sheldon Reservoir in 1942, damming Carpenters Bayou in Harris County east of Houston. The lake supplied process water to wartime industrial plants along the nearby Houston Ship Channel. After the utility no longer needed the reservoir, the state of Texas acquired the site, and it opened as Sheldon Lake State Park, now managed by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. The park sits near the community of Sheldon, within the greater Houston metropolitan area.
Sheldon Lake State Park is known for its alligator population, a great blue heron and other wading bird rookery, and a 40-foot observation tower at its environmental learning center. Texas Parks and Wildlife has restored sections of coastal prairie and wetland around the lake's edges. Anglers fish the reservoir for largemouth bass and catfish, and school groups from the Houston area visit for outdoor education programs run out of the park's learning center.
- 108 roads engraved around the shore, 9 of them labeled
- 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.
Sheldon Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Sheldon Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 5 ft, 11 ft, 16 ft, 22 ft, 27 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 33 ft. The lake covers about 1.2 square miles, and 108 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 Sheldon 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 Sheldon 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 Sheldon Lake.
Sheldon 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 Sheldon Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Sheldon 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 33 ft
- 1.2 square miles of water
- 108 shore roads engraved, 9 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
