Every Lake
Rice Lake
660 acres, ten miles of shoreline, a short drive from Janesville, Wisconsin.
- 10 ft · first step
- 20 ft
- 30 ft
- 40 ft
- 50 ft
- 60 ft · bottom
About Rice Lake
Rice Lake sits in southern Wisconsin's Rock County, a short drive from Janesville, a city built around the Rock River and, for much of the 20th century, a General Motors assembly plant. The surrounding land is flat glacial farm country, corn and soybean fields cut by county roads, typical of the region between Madison and the Illinois border. The lake's name is common across Wisconsin, a legacy of the wild rice that grew in shallow water and fed both wildlife and the Ho-Chunk people who lived in the area before statehood.
The lake covers about 660 acres with roughly ten miles of shoreline, modest in size compared to the larger lakes farther north but large enough to support a full ring of private docks and cottages. Depth runs shallow by regional standards, topping out at an estimated 60 feet. Weekend traffic is mostly local: Rock County residents fishing for panfish and bass, families out on pontoon boats, and a scattering of year-round homes mixed in with seasonal ones, a pattern common to lakes within easy reach of a working town rather than a resort destination.
- 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.
Rice Lake depth chart, in wood
This is a Rice Lake depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 10 ft, 20 ft, 30 ft, 40 ft, 50 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 60 ft. The lake covers about 1.1 square miles. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Rice 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 Rice 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 Rice Lake.
Rice 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 Rice Lake; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Rice 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 60 ft
- 1.1 square miles of water
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
