Washington D.C., Washington, D.C. 3D layered wood map in laser-cut Baltic birch, shown framed against a light wall
Washington D.C., Washington, D.C. 3D layered wood map in laser-cut Baltic birch, shown framed against a light wall
Washington D.C., Washington, D.C. 3D layered wood map in laser-cut Baltic birch, shown framed against a light wall

Washington D.C., Washington, D.C. 3D Wood Map | Laser-Cut Birch Depth Chart

$ 425.00
24.5 x 31 in
Baltic birch, hand-stained water
Up to nine laser-cut birch layers
Carved bathymetric relief, laser-etched labels
Soundings: NOAA nautical survey data
How the Water Becomes Wood

A chart is a stack of flat sheets until the water's real soundings tell it what shape to take.

  1. SurveyReal bathymetric sounding data sets every contour line before a single cut is made.
  2. CutEach depth band is laser-cut from its own sheet of Baltic birch, up to nine layers deep.
  3. StainWater layers are stained by hand, reading darker the deeper the water runs.
  4. StackThe sheets are registered and stacked in sequence, and the bed's true shape rises out of the wood.
  5. EtchDepths and place names are burned into the grain itself, never printed on it.
  6. FrameA solid Baltic birch frame and acrylic glass finish the piece, ready to hang.

Washington, D.C. in laser-cut Baltic birch, 24.5 by 31 inches: the capital's rivers carved one depth contour per layer, the Potomac and Anacostia meeting among the monuments.

Washington is a river city that planned itself around the view: the Potomac sweeps past Georgetown's old port and under the bridges, the Tidal Basin borrows its water for the cherry trees each spring, and Hains Point rides the confluence where the Anacostia arrives from the east. Roosevelt Island keeps its forest mid-river opposite the Kennedy Center, rowers and rental kayaks share the reach below Key Bridge, and the channel runs south past the fish market toward Alexandria's waterfront. On the chart, the two rivers' engraved channels frame the federal city exactly as L'Enfant found them.

Contours are laser-cut sheet by sheet, stacked by hand, engraved, and set behind acrylic glass in a solid Baltic birch frame.

Cherry blossom mornings and monument runs happen at the water's edge. This is the water's side of the story.

The engraving spans Georgetown to Alexandria: the Tidal Basin, Hains Point, the Anacostia, and National Harbor's bend. Downstream, the river feeds the Chesapeake Bay chart.

  • 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
View details