by WisCartography

Little St Germain Lake

About this Map

Finishing the map of Little Saint Germain Lake had been on my mind for quite a while, so I was glad to finally wrap this one up!

It was also a bit of a challenge to put together. Little Saint Germain has a sprawling shape, with numerous bays, channels, islands, and a winding shoreline. Beneath the surface, some of the steep drop-offs created very tight depth contours, particularly in West Bay. Getting all of that bathymetric detail onto the page while keeping the map readable took some work, but I’m happy with how it turned out.

The unusual shape of Little Saint Germain also created an opportunity I really liked. Instead of mapping the lake in isolation, I was able to include a whole collection of neighboring waters, including Moon, Alma, Finley, Wakefield, and Hiawatha Lakes. That makes the finished map useful for getting oriented around this entire little corner of Vilas County rather than simply showing one lake.

As always, I included plenty of detail beyond the shoreline. Roads, homes and other buildings, lake acreage, boat access, depth information, and surrounding geographic features help give the map a sense of place. The forested hills across the western half of the map are depicted with varying color tones and subtle terrain shading, adding another layer of information without overpowering the lakes themselves.

The fishery is a big part of the story too. Little Saint Germain and the surrounding waters support classic Northwoods species including Muskellunge, Northern Pike, Walleye, Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass, Yellow Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill. Several are graphically illustrated on the map, adding some color and personality while also providing useful information about what swims beneath all those contours.

This is also one of those maps where a custom callout can be particularly useful. With so many bays, roads, neighboring lakes, and shoreline properties, highlighting a particular home, cottage, resort, or business can help someone immediately orient themselves within what is otherwise a fairly complicated landscape.

Like the other maps in this series, I designed Little Saint Germain with framing in mind. Personally, I still like the look of a dark walnut frame with these Northwoods maps. The warm wood tones work especially well with the subdued colors of the landscape and even seem to pick up some of the colors of two particularly sought-after fish illustrated on the map: Smallmouth Bass and, of course, Musky.

This one took some patience. Between the winding shoreline, all those bays, steep underwater drop-offs, tight contours, and the challenge of fitting several neighboring lakes into a single composition, there was a lot going on. But that complexity is also what makes the finished map interesting. You can use it to study the depths of Little Saint Germain, figure out how the surrounding lakes fit together, find your way around the area, or simply hang it on the wall and enjoy a little piece of the Northwoods.