Every Lake
Pleasant Lake
151 acres, 43 feet down, two miles of shoreline west of Milwaukee.
- 7 ft · first step
- 14 ft
- 21 ft
- 28 ft
- 35 ft
- 43 ft · bottom
About Pleasant Lake
Pleasant Lake sits in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, in terrain shaped by the retreat of the Wisconsin glaciation roughly 12,000 years ago. The ice sheet left behind a landscape of moraines and kettle depressions across southeastern Wisconsin, and many of the county's smaller lakes, Pleasant Lake included, formed in these kettles as buried ice blocks melted and filled with water. The lake covers about 151 acres, small compared to the larger glacial lakes nearby.
At roughly two miles of shoreline, Pleasant Lake is ringed mostly by year-round homes and cottages rather than commercial development, typical of the smaller lakes scattered through this part of Waukesha County. Its location puts it within easy reach of Milwaukee, and it draws local anglers working its panfish and bass populations along with residents who keep boats at private docks. The lake's modeled maximum depth of about 43 feet gives it enough cold water to hold fish through the summer months.
- 15 roads engraved around the shore, 2 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.
Pleasant Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Pleasant Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour. The lake covers about 0.3 square miles, and 15 shore roads are engraved around it. The shape of the bottom comes from a peer-reviewed bathymetry model of the lake.
A Pleasant 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 Pleasant 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 Pleasant Lake.
Pleasant 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 Pleasant 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
- 0.3 square miles of water
- 15 shore roads engraved, 2 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
