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Lake Tahoe topographic map

Lake Tahoe is one of the deepest lakes in North America, and the USGS multibeam survey of its floor gives a lake map real depth instead of a flat hole.

Lake Tahoe as a 14-layer laser-cut relief, rendered in the TopoStack studio.
Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada, USA, generated in the TopoStack studio. Terrain: Mapzen. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Open in studio Download the project file

The project

Cut size270.933 × 406.4 mm (10.7 × 16 in)
Material3.175 mm (1/8 in) sheets
Vertical exaggeration3×
Elevation range in the frame1,656 m
Layers14, 44.45 mm (1.75 in) tall

Why these settings

  • A portrait frame fits the lake’s north–south length and the mountains on both shores.
  • The surveyed lake floor is deep compared with the land relief, so depth exaggeration stays at 1× and the studio adds the depth sheets it needs.

Make it yourself

  1. Open this project in the studio. It opens with the map area and every setting above and generates the terrain. Fresh data can change the layer count slightly from the one listed here, and Undo returns to the project you had open before.
  2. Check the cut layers and 3D preview, then open Export for the SVG cut panels and assembly guide.

The downloadable project file holds the same settings. Keep it as a record, or open it later with Import project JSON next to the project name in the studio.

To change it, set your own sheet thickness in the Terrain panel or a new size in the Place panel; the studio recalculates the layers. The layered map guide covers kerf, nesting and assembly, and the engraving guide shows how to make the same place as a flat engraving.

More examples

Create a topographic map