Mackinac Island, 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
Mackinac Island and the Straits around it, carved in stacked Baltic birch. The island, the passage between two Great Lakes, and the water every ferry crosses, cut one depth contour per layer.
Details
- Dimensions
- 16 × 20 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
No cars have run on Mackinac Island since 1898, which is most of what you need to know about the place: horses, bicycles, the long porch of the Grand Hotel, and fudge shops on Main Street. The island sits in the Straits of Mackinac, the channel where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron join and trade water back and forth, and the chart shows what the ferry captains know: the shoals off the island, the deep water of the passage, Round Island and its lighthouse standing guard across the channel.
Every contour is laser-cut from its own birch sheet and stacked by hand, place names engraved rather than printed, acrylic glass over the relief, solid Baltic birch frame in Dark or Light.
Honeymooners, Fort Mackinac kids, lilac festival regulars: whatever brought you across the Straits, the crossing itself is here in the wood.
The engraving covers the island, Round Island and its light, and the Straits shores at Mackinaw City and St. Ignace. The bridge's water continues on the Lake Huron chart and the Lake Michigan chart, or take all five at once on the Great Lakes chart.
- 16 × 20 in
- 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 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 Mackinac Island is cut, layered and etched from real survey data.
Built for the wall it ends up on.
A solid birch frame in Light or Dark, 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
1 review, 5.0 average
Plus 3,400+ reviews across our other charts, 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.
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