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How
It Happened
Crater Lake rests in the shattered remnants of Mount Mazama,
an ancient volcano. About 7,700 years ago, the volcano erupted with spectacular
force, spreading volcanic ash and pumice over much of what is now the western
United States and Canada. Eruption debris can still be seen in the soil as far
away as Montana and Saskatchewan. So
much material was ejected from the volcano that its foundation was undermined
and it collapsed into itself. When the smoke cleared, a 4,000-foot-deep basin
was left where a 12,000-foot-high mountain had once stood. Wizard
Island Oregon
Over time, rain and snow filled the basin with water, to
a maximum depth today of 1,943 feet. Volcanic activity continued, building Wizard
Island and several other features.
It's
no surprise that Crater Lake National Park is Oregon's image on the U.S. Mint’s
quarter program. |
Provided
by the National Park Service
Few places on earth command overwhelming
awe from observers, and Crater Lake, in south central Oregon, is absolutely one
of them. Even in a region of volcanic wonders, Crater Lake can only be described
in superlatives. Stories
of the deep blue lake can never prepare visitors for their first breathtaking
look from the brink of this 6-mile-wide caldera which was created by the eruption
and collapse of Mt. Mazama almost 7,000 years ago. Even seasoned travelers gasp
at the 20-mile circle of cliffs, tinted in subtle shades and fringed with hemlock,
fir and pine: all this in a lake of indescribably rich blue.
Crater
Lake Vacation
Crater Lake National Park is host to a diverse array of
activities. While enjoying the natural scenic wonders, park visitors may hike
in old-growth forests, participate in a variety of interpretive activites, camp
out or stay in an historic hotel, or even cross-country ski during the eight-month-long
winters in the high Cascades.
Preserving
this environment for the continued use and enjoyment of the public is also a major
goal of the National Park Service. Resource managers are invloved in studies on
lake ecology, forest ecosystems, geologic processes, even the role of fire in
maintaining healthy relationships between the forests and the land. Their work
yields valuable data on the natural systems which have created and maintained
that which we fondly call Crater Lake National Park. Crater Lake National Park
has been recommended as a wilderness preserve, a place where we may forget ourselves
for a time and enjoy a surge of healthy outdoor exploration.
Visitors
to the park enjoy multiple opportunities to explore the caldera and enjoy all
the spectacular view points on the 33-mile-long rim drive. A peaceful guided boat
tour, hiking trails and interpretive programs are offered in the summer and ranger-led
snowshoe walks and many trails for cross-country skiing in the winter.
Crater
Lake Lodging
Crater Lake Oregon is widely known for its intense blue color
and spectacular views. During summer, visitors may navigate the Rim Drive around
the lake, enjoy boat tours on the lake surface, stay in the historic Crater Lake
Lodge, camp at Mazama Village, or hike some of the park's various trails including
Mt. Scott at 8,929 ft. Diverse
interpretive programs enhance visitors' knowledge and appreciation of this national
park, 90 percent of which is managed as wilderness.
The
winter brings some of the heaviest snowfall in the country, averaging 533 inches
per year. Although park facilities mostly close for this snowy season, visitors
may view the lake during fair weather, enjoy cross-country skiing and participate
in weekend snowshoe hikes.
Crater
Lake History and Legend
Local Native Americans witnessed the collapse
of Mount Mazama and kept the event alive in their legends. One ancient legend
of the Klamath people closely parallels the geologic story which emerges from
today's scientific research.
The
legend tells of two Chiefs, Llao of the Below World and Skell of the Above World,
pitted in a battle which ended up in the destruction of Llao's home, Mt. Mazama.
The battle was witnessed in the eruption of Mt. Mazama and the creation of Crater
Lake. The Klamaths revered the lake and the surrounding area, keeping it undiscovered
by white explorers until 1853.
That
year, on June 12, three gold prospectors, John Wesley Hillman, Henry Klippel,
and Isaac Skeeters, came upon a long, sloping mountain. Upon reaching its highest
point, a huge, awe-inspiring lake was visible.
"This
is the bluest lake we've ever seen," they reported, and named it Deep Blue
Lake. But gold was more on the minds of settlers at the time and the discovery
was soon forgotten.
Captain
Clarence Dutton was the next man to make a discovery at Crater Lake Oregon.
Dutton commanded a U.S. Geological Survey party which carried the Cleetwood, a
half-ton survey boat, up the steep slopes of the mountain then lowered it to the
lake. From the stern of the Cleetwood, a piece of pipe on the end of a spool of
piano wire sounded the depth of the lake at 168 different points. Dutton's soundings
of 1,996 feet were amazingly close to the sonar readings made in 1959 that established
the lake's deepest point at 1,932 feet.
William
Gladstone Steel devoted his life and fortune to the establishment and management
of Crater Lake National Park. His preoccupation with the lake began in 1870. In
his efforts to bring recognition to the park, he participated in lake surveys
that provided scientific support. He named many of the lake's landmarks, including
Wizard Island, Llao Rock and Skell Head. Steel's dream was realized on May 22,
1902, when President Theodore Roosevelt signed the bill giving Crater Lake national
park status. And because of Steel's involvement, Crater Lake Lodge was opened
in 1915 and the Rim Drive was completed in 1918.
