Every Lake
Lake Steilacoom
Damming Chambers Creek in 1854 backed up a prairie into 232 acres.
- 10 ft · first step
- 20 ft
- 30 ft
- 41 ft
- 51 ft
- 61 ft · bottom
About Lake Steilacoom
Lake Steilacoom sits southwest of Tacoma, Washington, and formed when a dam went up on Chambers Creek in 1854, one of the first sawmill dams in the Puget Sound region. The impoundment flooded a lowland once used by the Steilacoom people, whose name the lake carries. What started as a millpond for lumber and later for a paper mill downstream gradually became a fixed feature of the town of Steilacoom and neighboring Lakewood.
The lake today is bordered by residential streets, a public boat launch, and Harry Todd Park on its southern shore, drawing a mix of anglers, rowers, and swimmers from the surrounding suburbs. It has been stocked with trout and warm-water species for decades, and University of Washington researchers have monitored it for water quality since local algae blooms in the 1980s prompted a long-running lake management district. Its shoreline runs roughly four miles around a basin that stays shallow enough to warm quickly each summer.
- 4 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 95 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.
Lake Steilacoom depth chart, in wood
This is a Lake Steilacoom depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 10 ft, 20 ft, 30 ft, 41 ft, 51 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 61 ft. The lake covers about 0.4 square miles, and 95 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 Steilacoom 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 Steilacoom 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 Steilacoom.
Lake Steilacoom 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 Steilacoom; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Lake Steilacoom 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 61 ft
- 0.4 square miles of water
- 95 shore roads engraved, 4 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
