Houghton Lake, 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
Michigan's largest inland lake, cut in Baltic birch at 24.5 by 31 inches. Houghton Lake spreads across more than 20,000 acres, and this chart holds all of it, every contour a laser-cut layer.
Details
- Dimensions
- 24.5 × 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
Houghton is a broad, sociable lake, averaging shallow enough that the whole basin warms early and fishes all year. It is the headwaters of the Muskegon River, which leaves the lake's west end and runs clear across the state to Lake Michigan. And every January the ice village goes up for Tip-Up Town USA, one of the oldest winter festivals in the state, when the lake's surface becomes its own small town. On the chart, that friendly shallowness shows honestly: wide top layers, gentle steps, a lake built for pontoons and ice shanties rather than drama.
Each contour is cut from its own birch sheet and stacked by hand, names engraved into the wood, acrylic glass over the relief, solid Baltic birch frame.
Four generations at the same cottage row is a normal thing on this lake. The chart tends to get hung where the grandkids can find their bay.
Prudenville and Houghton Lake line the southern and western shores, with the Cut connecting toward the Dead Stream flooding. Its clear, deep neighbor Higgins Lake sits minutes north, the other half of Roscommon County's great lake rivalry.
- 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 Houghton Lake 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
6 reviews, 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?
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