Grand Traverse Bay, 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
Grand Traverse Bay in stacked Baltic birch: 32 miles of protected water split down the middle by Old Mission Peninsula, with every depth contour cut as its own layer.
Details
- Dimensions
- 24.5 x 31 in
- Material
- Baltic birch, hand-stained water
- Build
- Up to 12 laser-cut birch layers
- Detail
- Carved bathymetric relief, laser-etched labels
- Soundings
- NOAA nautical survey data
About this piece
The bay plunges to roughly 620 feet in its west arm, deeper than anywhere in Lake Erie and most of Lake Huron, remarkable for water this sheltered. Old Mission Peninsula divides it into two long arms, and the lighthouse at its tip stands almost exactly on the 45th parallel, halfway between the equator and the pole. On the chart, the two arms read as twin stacks of birch stepping down fast from the shorelines, with Power Island sitting in the west arm's top layers where the boats anchor on summer Saturdays.
Layers are laser-cut one contour at a time and stacked by hand, so the bay's famous depth is something you can see edge-on. Names are engraved, the finish shows the grain, and acrylic glass keeps the relief clean in its solid Baltic birch frame.
If you have ever watched the bay turn that impossible blue from a Traverse City beach or a Suttons Bay slip, this is that view, made permanent.
The engraving runs from Traverse City at the foot of the bay up through Suttons Bay and Northport on the Leelanau side and Elk Rapids on the east shore. Neighboring waters are close: Torch Lake just inland, Lake Leelanau over the hills, and the whole region on the Northwest Michigan chart.
- 16 × 20 in or 24.5 × 31 in
- Solid Baltic birch frame
- 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 12 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 Grand Traverse Bay is cut, layered and etched from real survey data.
Built for the wall it ends up on.
A solid birch frame, 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
17 reviews, 5.0 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 12 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.