Wender·Vista
Hebgen Lake
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileMontana
on the Madison, just outside Yellowstone

Hebgen Lake

— — the lake the earthquake rearranged.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“Hebgen sits at six thousand five hundred feet on the Madison River, a few miles north of the West Yellowstone gate. The dam went in in 1914. In August of 1959, a magnitude seven-point-three earthquake shifted the north shore six metres down and sent a landslide across the canyon below, sealing the river in a single minute. The new lake below is called Quake. — from the studio

from the studio
Hebgen Lake
— bring it home

Hebgen Lake, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Hebgen Lake

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Hebgen Lake is a sixteen-mile reservoir on the Madison River in Gallatin County, Montana, immediately west of Yellowstone National Park. It was created in 1914 when the Montana Power Company completed Hebgen Dam, raising the natural Madison meadows behind a concrete arch. The lake sits at roughly 6,535 feet and is held within Gallatin National Forest. U.S. Highway 287 traces the northern shore from West Yellowstone toward Ennis. Most of the surrounding land is public.

— the water

The Madison runs in and out of Hebgen, and the river above the lake is one of Montana's most-fished blue-ribbon trout waters. Rainbow and brown trout move between the lake and the river through the year; the Madison Arm and the South Fork hold the largest fish. The summer salmonfly hatch, in late June, draws fly fishers from across the country. Hebgen freezes through hard. Ice-fishing for trout off Rainbow Point begins in January once the surface is safe.

— the visit

West Yellowstone, six miles south on U.S. Highway 191, is the main service town. The Forest Service runs four campgrounds on the lake — Rainbow Point, Lonesomehurst, Cherry Creek, and Spring Creek — open from late May through September. The Earthquake Lake Visitor Center, eight miles below the dam on U.S. 287, tells the 1959 story with a view down onto the slide. Reservations through recreation.gov fill early for the August salmonfly weeks.

— where
United States · Gallatin County, Montana
— within
Gallatin National Forest
— elevation
1,992 m · 6,535 ft
— position
44.8542° N · 111.3000° W
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
10 km S
West Yellowstone
gateway town
12 km W
Quake Lake
earthquake lake
11 km E
Yellowstone National Park
national park
at the lake
Madison River
trout river
N
Hebgen Lake
West Yellowstone
Quake Lake
Yellowstone National Park
Madison River
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Hebgen Lake — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

A sixteen-mile reservoir on the Madison River in southwest Montana, formed in 1914 by Hebgen Dam. It sits at 6,535 feet just outside the west entrance to Yellowstone National Park, within Gallatin National Forest.

A magnitude 7.3 quake on August 17, 1959 dropped the north shore by about six metres and triggered a landslide that dammed the Madison River below Hebgen, creating Quake Lake. Twenty-eight people died in the slide.

Yes. Rainbow and brown trout are the main species, with the largest fish holding in the Madison Arm and the South Fork. The late-June salmonfly hatch on the river above the lake draws fly fishers from across the country.

The west entrance at West Yellowstone is about six miles south of the lake on U.S. Highway 191. Many visitors use Hebgen as a quieter base than the park gateway towns themselves.

From roughly mid-December through March in most years. Ice-fishing for trout off Rainbow Point opens in January once the ice is safe. The lake usually opens to boats again by late April.

— about the piece in your home

It's been a meaningful gift for customers with ties to the Madison. The river above Hebgen is one of the great blue-ribbon waters in the country. A Medium above a fly-tying bench or a Small for an office wall reads well.

The deep blue water and conifer-edged shoreline sit well with Mountain-modern lodges, Western-traditional rooms, and quieter Jewel-tone Maximalist spaces. The piece holds against rough-hewn timber and warm leather.

A single Large covers most sofas. A four-tile Mural reads as one piece behind a long sectional. For a wall above eight feet wide, the nine-tile Mural is the right scale.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and shrug off humidity. The Glossy finish is meant for framed wall pieces in dry rooms.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. No abrasives, no ammonia-based cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface beneath a thin protective finish, so the tile cleans like a piece of fine china.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is curated and finished in our Knoxville studio. We do not license the work. Each tile is hand-finished and signed on the back.

— if this one stayed with you

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