Lake Erie, carved in layers of birch
Every depth a real step in the wood, not a print.
“Beautiful piece, expertly crafted. Packed well and arrived in perfect condition.”
Mark S., Hudson, OH. Verified buyer
Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes and the liveliest for it, and this long 13.5 by 31 inch chart lays the whole lake out, Toledo to Buffalo, one laser-cut birch layer per depth contour.
Details
- Dimensions
- 13.5 x 31 in
- Material
- Baltic birch, hand-stained water
- Build
- Up to nine laser-cut birch layers
- Detail
- Carved bathymetric relief, laser-etched labels
- Soundings
- NOAA nautical survey data
About this piece
The average depth here is only 62 feet, which is exactly why Erie warms first, fishes best, and kicks up faster than any of its siblings. It is often said to put more fish on the table than the other four lakes combined, and the walleye run out of its western basin is the stuff of charter-boat legend. On the chart, the shallow western basin around the islands sits high in the birch while the deeper eastern basin toward Buffalo steps down layer by layer, the whole tilt of the lake visible at a glance.
Contours are cut sheet by sheet and stacked by hand, names engraved into the wood, the relief protected behind acrylic glass. The solid birch frame comes in Dark or Light.
Walleye anglers, islanders, and anyone raised along the south shore will find their water in the top two layers.
Engraved across it are Cleveland, Toledo, Sandusky, and Erie on the American side, Point Pelee reaching down from Ontario, and the island cluster around Put-in-Bay. Upstream, the water arrives from Lake St. Clair, and the whole system is on the full Great Lakes chart.
- 13.5 × 31 in, a long format for a long lake
- Solid Baltic birch frame in Dark or Light
- Acrylic glass front, ready to hang
- Free next-business-day shipping on orders placed by 2 PM EST
- 14-day returns
Shipping and returns
Orders placed by 2 PM EST ship the next business day, free anywhere in the US, with tracking.
14-day returns if the size or frame is not right for the room.
Going on someone else’s wall? It ships packed and ready to wrap. Add a gift note in your cart.
Not a print
Run a finger across it. You can feel the water get deeper.
Up to nine sheets of Baltic birch, each one laser-cut to a real depth contour from NOAA survey data, stained darker as the water gets deeper, then stacked by hand. Deep water falls away layer after layer; the shallows sit close to the surface, just like the real thing.
How the water becomes wood
Anyone who grew up on this water has a spot on this chart.
The dock, the crossing, the stretch of shoreline that meant summer. Most people find theirs in the first minute. Every shoreline, island and depth contour of Lake Erie is cut, layered and etched from real survey data.
Built for the wall it ends up on.
A solid birch frame in Dark or Light, an acrylic front that keeps dust off the layers without the glare of glass, and hanging hardware already on the back, so it goes up the day it arrives.
From the people who hung one
59 reviews, 4.9 average
Live from the water
Questions people ask before they buy
Straight answers to the things that stop an order.
When will it arrive?
Orders placed by 2 PM EST ship the next business day, free anywhere in the US. You get a tracking number as soon as it leaves.
Which size should I choose?
The larger size is the one most people hang in a living room, over a sofa, console or mantel; it reads clearly from across the room. The smaller size suits a hallway, office, bathroom or boat. Both carry the same detail.
How is it packed? Will it survive shipping?
Each piece ships framed, with the acrylic front already in place, in a box built for it. "Packed well and arrived in perfect condition" is the most common thing reviewers say about delivery.
What if it is not right?
14-day returns. If the frame color is wrong for the room or the size is not what you pictured, send it back.
Is this a print?
No. The water is up to nine physical layers of birch, each laser-cut to a real depth contour and stacked by hand. The names and depths are burned into the wood. You can feel every step.
Do you have my lake?
195+ lakes, bays and coastlines. Use the map below to find yours, or search it. Each of the Great Lakes, for example, is also available on its own chart at closer scale.
Not your lake?
195+ lakes, bays and coastlines
Pan the chart, jump by region, or let us find the waters closest to you. Every pin is a piece we carve.