Every Lake
Riffe Lake
Named for a town founded in 1893 and drowned when Mossyrock Dam closed in 1968.
- 13 ft · first step
- 26 ft
- 39 ft
- 52 ft
- 65 ft
- 79 ft · bottom
About Riffe Lake
Riffe Lake sits on the Cowlitz River in Lewis County, Washington. It formed in 1968 when Tacoma Power completed Mossyrock Dam, the tallest dam in the state, as part of a hydroelectric project planned since the 1940s. The reservoir took its name from Riffe, a town founded by Floyd Riffe in 1893 that had grown to a few hundred residents before Tacoma Power used eminent domain to acquire and empty it. The nearby settlement of Kosmos was flooded along with it.
The lake lies east of Centralia, in the shadow of Mount St. Helens and the surrounding Cascade foothills. Its shoreline is managed largely by Tacoma Power, with public access points and Taidnapam Park on its eastern end. Kokanee salmon and rainbow trout draw anglers from Mossyrock and the wider Lewis County area, and the lake still floods and recedes with dam operations, exposing old roadbeds and building foundations from the towns beneath it in low-water years.
- 8 shore towns named, with a star on each
- 189 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.
Riffe Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Riffe Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 13 ft, 26 ft, 39 ft, 52 ft, 65 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 79 ft. The lake covers about 15.2 square miles, and 189 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 Riffe 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 Riffe 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 Riffe Lake.
Riffe 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 Riffe Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Riffe 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 79 ft
- 15.2 square miles of water
- 189 shore roads engraved
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
