Michigan lake depth maps
Shavehead Lake depth map
Shavehead Lake in Cass County, Michigan reaches a depth of more than 70 feet at its deepest surveyed sounding. Shavehead Lake is charted here across 6 closed depth contours, from the 10 ft line down to 60 ft, enclosing about 238 acres of water. Half of that water lies inside the 50 ft line, and only 28 acres 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
Shavehead Lake depth chart: 6 depth contours from 10 to 60 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 10 ft | 238 acres | 100% |
| 20 ft | 220 acres | 93% |
| 30 ft | 189 acres | 79% |
| 40 ft | 143 acres | 60% |
| 50 ft | 78 acres | 33% |
| 60 ft | 28 acres | 12% |
Acreages are computed from the closed Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours contour rings, with islands subtracted. Shares are of the 238 acres inside the outermost charted contour (the 10 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. The survey also records a 70 ft sounding, marked as a point rather than a closed contour, so it is not charted as a band.
Fishing Shavehead Lake: steep walls and a big basin
Inside its outermost 10 ft contour the survey charts about 238 acres of Shavehead Lake, with the 50 ft line enclosing half of it, so the bottom holds its depth well out from the bank rather than tapering off a long shallow margin. The sharpest change on the chart is between 40 and 50 ft, where the mapped water loses 65 acres in 10 ft of depth, that band is the contour to work first, because it is where the bottom stops being flat. 28 acres, 12% of the mapped water, lie inside the deepest 60 ft contour, toward the eastern side of the lake. At 70 ft this is two-story water: the basin can stay cold below the summer thermocline while warm-water fish stay up on the 10-to-50 ft ground, and the fish that move between the two do it along the 40–50 ft break at first and last light.
Ice fishing on Shavehead Lake
Deep water like Shavehead 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 60 ft hole. That edge is the 40–50 ft band on the chart above, where 65 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 10-to-50 ft flat. Check ice thickness locally before you walk out.
Shavehead Lake depth map FAQs
- How deep is Shavehead Lake?
- Shavehead Lake is at least 70 feet deep. That figure is the deepest surveyed sounding in the Michigan DNR Inland Lake Contours survey, a point measurement rather than a closed contour, so the deepest line you can actually trace on the map is the 60 ft contour, and the water may run deeper still.
- Where is the deepest part of Shavehead Lake?
- The deepest charted water on Shavehead Lake lies inside the 60 ft contour, toward the eastern side of the lake. That contour encloses 28 acres, 12% 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 Shavehead Lake is shallower than 50 feet?
- About half. The 50 ft contour encloses 78 acres of the roughly 238 acres inside the outer 10 ft line, so the other half of the water is shallower than 50 feet. The sharpest drop is between 40 and 50 feet, where the mapped water sheds 65 acres.
- How accurate is this Shavehead 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 Shavehead Lake
- Birch Lake depth map · 80+ ft max · 2 mi away
- Donnell Lake depth map · 60+ ft max · 5 mi away
- Baldwins Lake depth map · 55+ ft max · 5 mi away
- Diamond Lake depth map · 64 ft max · 7 mi away
- Corey Lake depth map · 70+ ft max · 9 mi away
Mapped fishing venues near Shavehead Lake
Shavehead Lake in the venue directory covers access and fishing details for this water.
- Birch Lake · 2 mi away
- Donnell Lake · 5 mi away
- Baldwins Lake · 5 mi away
Fishing in Michigan needs a state license: Michigan fishing license guide · all Michigan venues