Crater Lake National Park: Collapsed Volcano To Amazing Blue Lake

Crater Lake National Park: Collapsed Volcano To Amazing Blue Lake
Stella
Stella 
Published
| 5 min read

Crater Lake National Park is best known for the striking pure blue water lake filling the caldera and Wizard Island within the lake waters. Hosting about 500,000 annual visitors, the park is only truly accessible for three or four months of the year after the snow melts. The park, sitting on 183,000 acres (74,057 hectares) of old-growth forests, evergreen trees, and volcanic rock, is the only national park in Oregon.

Deepest lake in the United States

Crater Lake from the Rim Lodge Walk

Crater Lake formed when Mount Mazama volcano erupted and collapsed about 7,700 years ago. The volcano, originally over 12,000 feet tall (3,658 meters), collapsed leaving behind a huge basin, called a caldera. The basin filled with water from melting snow and became the beautiful blue lake that is the acclaimed centerpiece of Crater Lake National Park today.

The lake is approximately six miles (9.7 kilometers) wide and just under 2,000 feet (610 meters) deep, making it the deepest lake in the United States and ninth deepest lake internationally. The lake is surrounded by a twenty-one mile circle of cliffs dotted with subtle green shades of hemlock, fir, and pine trees.

For a little perspective, the Freedom Tower in New York City is 1,776 feet (541 meters) tall. If the tower was placed in the lake, you would still have a couple hundred feet of water covering it!

Crater Lake is filled entirely by snowfall and rainfall, which results in the extremely breathtaking blue appearance of the water with clarity even at great depths within the lake. No streams feed or drain from this body of water. The water level is maintained solely by precipitation, evaporation, and seepage.

Snow covers the park for eight months a year, October to June. The average annual snowfall is over 44 feet (13.4 m), so sometimes snow remains into mid-July. The park service does not plow the road around the lake until June although the south entrance is plowed to the Rim Hotel during the snowy months. Despite the cold weather, the lake itself has only frozen completely once in its history, in 1949.

History linked closely to Klamath Native Americans

Crater Lake Lake at Sunset

Local Native Americans witnessed the collapse of Mount Mazama following a magnificent eruption. Legends have kept the event alive over the years.

One such Klamath legend closely parallels the geologic story verified by modern 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 through the eruption of Mt. Mazama and the creation of Crater Lake. Llao Rock is named after one of the Spirit Chiefs the Klamath believed created Crater Lake.

Many Native American tribes, including the Klamath, have long considered the lake to be a spiritual place. Only tribesmen who possessed great wisdom and strength were permitted to view the crystal waters. The lake remained unseen by white settlers until the mid-1800’s when three gold prospectors climbed a long sloping mountain hoping to find gold only to find a huge blue lake. The prospectors called it Deep Blue Lake but the Native American name of Crater Lake remained.

A childhood dream led to national park designation

Pinnacle Spires

In the late 1870s, a child living in Kansas (William Steel) read about Crater Lake in a newspaper and vowed to visit the lake someday. In 1885 he finally did visit the park; he was so impressed by what he experienced that he began lobbying to have the area designated as a national park. His efforts were finally realized when on May 22, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the bill giving Crater Lake national park status.

Sights not to be missed

The Pumice Castle

On the east side of the lake, a ship-shaped island can be found known as Phantom Ship. This ancient rock formation is thought to be a filled conduit resulting from a fissure during the active lava flows when the basin was formed. The island, resembling an abandoned boat, is about 500 feet (152 meters) long and 200 feet (61 meters) wide with spires towering 170 feet (52 meters) above the water surface.

Known as Pumice Castle, a bright rust-colored pumice outcropping on the eastern wall of the caldera resembles a castle.

To the north of the lake is a pumice desert. The desert is the result of ash sent skyward when Mount Mazama erupted. The resulting area is highly porous and is unable to sustain much plant life. In years past, large pumice stones were gathered from this desert to be utilized for a variety of skin treatments; today, only tiny pebbles remain, the result of years of unauthorized collection of the stones.

Wizard Island, the well-known island on the western side of the lake is really a symmetrical cinder cone almost completely encircled by dark, rugged flows of lava. The island is about one square mile with a summit rising some 700 feet (213 meters) above the lake. Boat tours from the north side of the lake take visitors to and around Wizard Island. For those who enjoy hiking, a trail leads to the summit of the island where a small crater rests.

A hemlock has been floating upright in the lake for over a century. The tree, known as the “Old Man of the Lake,” is about 30 feet (9 meters) tall and can be spotted from the rim when the wind currents move it slowly around the lake edges. Only the top 4 feet (1.2 meters) are visible so one must look closely to find the “Old Man.”

To the south of the lake is an area known as The Pinnacles. This area features a collection of needle-like rock formations that were originally steam and gas vents of the volcano. The spires appeared after years of erosion along Sand Creek Canyon. The tallest spires stand over 50 feet (15.24 m) tall.

Changing weather

Pumice Desert in Hot Mid-day Sun

The weather can change quickly at the lake. A brilliant blue sky can become ominously dark rather quickly when storms move through the area. At times, the lake and surrounding views are obscured in masses of brooding clouds. Mother Nature creates some spectacular diversity in the weather within the park.

Temperatures can range from about 18 degrees Fahrenheit (-7.2 degrees Celsius) in the winter to over 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 degrees Celsius) in the summer.

Other fun things to do

Squirrel checking out hikers

In addition to the guided boat tour on the lake, there are several hiking trails to be explored and interpretive programs led by park rangers daily in the summer.

Cross-country skiing is the only way to access the park during the long snowy months.

The Rim Drive provides visitors multiple opportunities to stop and explore the caldera and surrounding lands as it winds along a 33 mile (53 kilometers) route.

Visitors may stay in the historic Crater Lake Lodge near the south entrance or camp at Mazama Village.

The park’s newspaper visitor guide, Crater Lake Reflections, is published twice a year and is the best source of information for planning your visit (link below).

How to find Crater Lake National Park

crater lake national park: collapsed volcano to amazing blue lake | how to find crater lake national park

From Portland: I-5 south to Roseburg - Route 138 east to the park’s north entrance – about 250 miles.*

From Bend: Route 97 south to route 138 west to the park’s north entrance.

From Medford: Route 62 north and east to the park’s west entrance. About 77 miles.

From Klamath Falls: Route 97 north to route 62 north and west to the park’s south entrance.

*The park’s north entrance is typically closed for the winter season from mid-October to mid-June.

The crystal blue water will leave a lasting impression

Regardless of what season you visit the park, the crystal blue waters of Crater Lake will stay in your mind for a long time. The serenity and beauty of nature in the park are soothing and stimulating to the soul.

Disclosure: Trip101 selects the listings in our articles independently. Some of the listings in this article contain affiliate links.

History


Get Trip101 in your inbox

Unsubscribe in one click. See our Privacy Policy for more information on how we use your data

I love to write and take photos to capture my journeys. Traveling the world allows me to experience a variety of cultures, meet new people, and live life to the max. I have been to all 50 states in...Read more

 Want to contribute as a Local Expert?
Explore Klamath Falls
Looking for accommodation?
x
Good things are meant to be shared!
Back to top