Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake National Park is one of the natural wonders of the world. It is located 100 miles east of the Pacific Ocean on the edge of the Cascade Mountains. The lake itself lies inside a caldara, created when 12,000 foot high Mount Mazama collapsed 7,700 years ago following a large eruption. Before the eruption, molten lava puddled up underneath the mountain creating a giant underground lake. Channels of molten lava traveled to the surface on each side of the mountain. The top of the mountain collapsed. The enormous eruption created a volcanic basin. Over time the basin filled up with rain water, creating the deepest lake in North American and the 7th deepest lake in the world.

We drove the entire 33 miles around the crater and we stopped at nearly every viewpoint to take pictures.
Because there are no rivers flowing into or out of Crater Lake the Lake is largely uninhabited by fish. Making the Lake alomst completely clear.The only fish that survive in the lake are a species of Trout and Salmon. The fish are not native to Crater Lake.

Native Americans living in the area have known about the lake for hundreds of years but kept the secret from white settlers until gold prospectors discovered it in the 1800's. The gold prospectors took a boat out onto the lake and sunk it. The island that you see in this picture is called Fantom Ship for the boat wreckage thats on the lake's floor. The fantom ship island was created by a small volcanic eruption before the lake filled with rain.

Wizard Island is a second island in the lake. Wizard island is much larger that Fantom Ship. A larger volcanic eruption in the deepest part of the lake towards the center created Wizard Island.

Here is Keo sitting at the visitor center thousands of feet above the lake.

These two pictures show the clarity of the lake. The color of the lake is so brillant because there are very few impurities in the water. The clean water reflects the bright blue sky above. The water is so clear that an object lowered to 144 feet below the surface can still be seen clearly.


Here is another shot of Wizard Island from the northern side of the park.

There is only one trail down into the crater and to the waters edge. The Cleetwood Cove Trail is a 2.2 mile strenuous hike. All other paths down to the waters edge are too dangerous and prohibited. At the bottom of the dirt trail is a dock where a boat takes off several times a day to give an indepth tour of the lake. Here a picture of Keo sitting on some rocks next to the water. The temperature of the water rarely warms up to a top temperature of 55-56 degrees. The average temperature below 300feet is 38 degrees.