We turn the depth surveys of Upper Midwest lakes into gifts: mugs, blankets, framed prints, ornaments, shirts and cabin signs for the people who know a lake by heart.
Each design starts in our shop in Ironwood, Michigan, where we take the depth contours state natural-resources surveys have charted for each lake, and redraw them, incorporating each one into a design for every lake we design for.
What we make
Every lake on the site gets three designs: a light contour map with dark lines on a pale ground, a dark contour map with light lines on a dark ground, and a shaded depth map whose tones deepen with the water. Each design is printed to order and shipped by CafePress, with Zazzle products being added. Each lake page links straight to its products.
Which lakes
We started with Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: 456 lakes across all 15 UP counties, from Lake Angeline in Marquette County, the deepest in our data at 162 feet, to small lakes few maps bother with. Minnesota and northern Wisconsin come next. Lake names repeat a lot, so every lake is listed under its county; the lakes index is the place to start.
Who we are
Lake Map Gift Co. is part of State Street Shirt Company, which has made Wisconsin and Up North designs since 1999. The depth data is public survey work by state natural-resources departments; the drawing, lettering and finished designs are ours. Image use and copyright explains what you may and may not do with the pictures on this site.
A note on accuracy
The designs follow the surveys closely, but they are art, not charts. Survey data can be decades old and lake bottoms change, so never use our maps for navigation, depth, hazards or ice. How the maps are made and the questions page have more.