Every Lake
Lake Drummond
Virginia's oldest natural lake has no stream flowing in or out.
- 9 ft · first step
- 19 ft
- 28 ft
- 38 ft
- 47 ft
- 57 ft · bottom
About Lake Drummond
Lake Drummond sits inside the Great Dismal Swamp in southeastern Virginia, near Norfolk and Suffolk. Geologists still debate how it formed — theories include a meteor strike and a peat fire that burned through the swamp thousands of years ago, leaving a shallow basin that filled with water. Colonial governor William Drummond is credited with finding the lake around 1665, and it later took his name. George Washington surveyed parts of the surrounding swamp in the 1760s while working with the Dismal Swamp Land Company, which explored draining it for farmland.
The lake has no natural stream flowing in or out; it is fed by rainfall and swamp runoff, and its water runs the color of tea from tannins released by cypress and tupelo trees. In the early 1800s workers dug the Feeder Ditch to connect the lake to the Dismal Swamp Canal, supplying water to keep the canal navigable between Norfolk, Virginia, and Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Lake Drummond now sits inside the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, reached mainly by canoe or kayak along the ditch, and draws anglers fishing for largemouth bass and chain pickerel.
- 1 roads engraved around the shore, 0 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.
Lake Drummond depth chart, in wood
This is a Lake Drummond depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 9 ft, 19 ft, 28 ft, 38 ft, 47 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 57 ft. The lake covers about 5.1 square miles, and 1 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 Drummond 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 Drummond 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 Drummond.
Lake Drummond 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 Drummond; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Lake Drummond 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 57 ft
- 5.1 square miles of water
- 1 shore roads engraved
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
