Every Lake
Black Lake
Six miles of shoreline and a 49-foot bottom three miles from Washington's capitol dome.
- 8 ft · first step
- 16 ft
- 24 ft
- 32 ft
- 40 ft
- 49 ft · bottom
About Black Lake
Black Lake lies in Thurston County, Washington, a few miles southwest of Olympia, the state capital. The lake covers roughly 536 acres and reaches a maximum depth near 49 feet, shallow enough for sunlight to reach most of the lake bed. Like other lakes in the Puget Sound lowlands, its basin was shaped by glacial ice that retreated from the region thousands of years ago, leaving behind low hills and closed depressions that later filled with water. The lake drains north through Black Lake Ditch into Percival Creek, connecting its water eventually to Capitol Lake in downtown Olympia.
Homes line much of the lake's six miles of shoreline as Olympia has grown outward along the Black Lake Boulevard corridor. The lake is shallow and weedy along its margins, conditions that favor largemouth bass, bluegill, and other warm-water fish over the cold-water trout found in lakes farther east toward the Cascades. Anglers and water skiers use it regularly, and its position a few miles southwest of the capitol keeps it within easy reach of downtown Olympia. It sits low among the gentle hills typical of the southern Puget Sound lowlands, not the steeper terrain found elsewhere in the state.
- 4 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 73 roads engraved around the shore, 4 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.
Black Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Black Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 5 ft, 9 ft, 14 ft, 19 ft, 24 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 29 ft. The lake covers about 0.9 square miles, and 73 shore roads are engraved around it. The shape of the bottom comes from a peer-reviewed bathymetry model of the lake.
A Black 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 Black 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 Black Lake.
Black 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 Black Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes — from GLOBathy, a peer-reviewed bathymetry dataset that estimates the bottom of every lake from its shoreline and surrounding terrain. Each layer of birch is a depth contour. Where a lake has a published sounding survey we use that instead, and we are adding surveys lake by lake.
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 29 ft
- 0.9 square miles of water
- 73 shore roads engraved, 4 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
Keep reading
Guides from the people who cut these maps.
- Lake House Gifts That Actually Mean SomethingThoughtful lake house gifts and cabin gift ideas for Christmas: what lake people actually keep, how to choose a size, and how to word a personal line.
- Gifts for Fishermen Who Already Own Every LureUnique fishing gifts for the angler who has everything: a layered wood depth map of the lake they fish, with the structure they know by heart.
- Deepest Lakes in Michigan: Surveyed Depths and What Lies BelowWhich inland lakes in Michigan run deepest? Surveyed depths for Crystal, Mullett, Glen, Charlevoix and more, and how depth shapes color, fish and ice.
