Michigan lake depth maps
Oxbow Lake depth map
Oxbow Lake in Gogebic County, Michigan reaches a depth of 95 feet. Oxbow Lake is charted here across 17 closed depth contours, from the 5 ft line down to 95 ft, enclosing about 103 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 20 ft line, and only under an acre lie inside the deepest one. Every contour is on the interactive map below, free and without an account.
Data: Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours (public record). Contours closed, checked and area-computed by Jordan Carter, founder of GilledIt · page updated
Oxbow Lake depth chart: 17 depth contours from 5 to 95 ft
Data: Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours (public record), retrieved August 2026 · depths change over time · not for navigation
| Depth contour | Water inside it | Share of mapped water |
|---|---|---|
| 5 ft | 103 acres | 100% |
| 10 ft | 84 acres | 82% |
| 15 ft | 59 acres | 57% |
| 20 ft | 34 acres | 33% |
| 25 ft | 28 acres | 27% |
| 30 ft | 23 acres | 22% |
| 35 ft | 20 acres | 19% |
| 40 ft | 16 acres | 16% |
| 45 ft | 13 acres | 12% |
| 50 ft | 9.2 acres | 8.9% |
| 55 ft | 7.2 acres | 6.9% |
| 60 ft | 4.6 acres | 4.4% |
| 65 ft | 3.6 acres | 3.5% |
| 70 ft | 2.6 acres | 2.5% |
| 75 ft | 1.7 acres | 1.7% |
| 80 ft | 1.1 acres | 1% |
| 95 ft | under 1 acre | under 1% |
Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 103 acres inside the outermost charted contour (the 5 ft line), which is the outer edge of the mapped water, several state files carry no 0 ft shoreline line, so this is not the same as a share of the lake's published surface area.
Fishing Oxbow Lake: a wide shallow flat over a deep hole
Inside its outermost 5 ft contour the survey charts about 103 acres of Oxbow Lake, with the 20 ft line enclosing half of it, so most of this Gogebic County water is shallow and the depth is concentrated in one part of the basin. The sharpest change on the chart is between 10 and 15 ft, where the mapped water loses 25 acres in 5 ft of depth, that band is the contour to work first, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. The 95 ft contour, toward the northeastern corner of the lake, encloses under an acre of water, a single pocket rather than a basin, but one worth a drift over in high summer. At 95 ft this is two-story water: the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline while warm-water fish stay up on the 5-to-20 ft ground, and the fish that move between the two do it along the 10–15 ft break at first and last light.
Ice fishing on Oxbow Lake
Deep water like Oxbow Lake freezes later and less evenly than the shallow lakes around it, and the winter bite sets up on the first real break, not out over the 95 ft hole. That edge is the 10–15 ft band on the chart above, where 25 acres of bottom tilt away, and panfish and walleye work up and down it through the day. By late ice the fish push back onto the 5-to-20 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.
Oxbow Lake depth map FAQs
- How deep is Oxbow Lake?
- Oxbow Lake reaches a maximum depth of 95 feet in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey. Most of it is far shallower: the survey charts 17 closed depth contours over about 103 acres, and half of that water sits inside the 20 ft line.
- Where is the deepest part of Oxbow Lake?
- The deepest charted water on Oxbow Lake lies inside the 95 ft contour, toward the northeastern corner of the lake. That contour encloses under an acre, under 1% of the mapped water, so it is a small target on a small water, the depth chart above gives the contour to line up on.
- How much of Oxbow Lake is shallower than 20 feet?
- About half. The 20 ft contour encloses 34 acres of the roughly 103 acres inside the outer 5 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 20 feet. The sharpest drop is between 10 and 15 feet, where the mapped water sheds 25 acres.
- How accurate is this Oxbow Lake depth map?
- The contours come from the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey, retrieved August 2026 and last rebuilt on August 19, 2026. Depths change over time with water levels and sediment, so treat this map as a planning guide for fishing, and never use it for navigation. Acreages are computed from the published contour geometry, not from a separate area survey, so read them as close approximations.
Depth maps for lakes near Oxbow Lake
- Ormes Lake depth map · 65+ ft max · 1 mi away
- Gaylord Lake depth map · 50 ft max · 2 mi away
- Emeline Lake depth map · 75 ft max · 9 mi away
- Big Mosquito Lake depth map · 65 ft max · 9 mi away
- Grace Lake depth map · 65 ft max · 10 mi away
Mapped fishing venues near Oxbow Lake
Oxbow Lake in the venue directory covers access and fishing details for this water.
- Ormes Lake · 1 mi away
- Gaylord Lake · 2 mi away
- Emeline Lake · 9 mi away
Fishing in Michigan needs a state license: Michigan fishing license guide · all Michigan venues