|
Crater Lake is a blue jewel- a secret treasure- hidden
by jealous gods atop a mountain.
Nestled in the hollow shell of a shattered volcano,
the lake is hidden until you crest the rim and are struck the sudden spectacular view.
The 5 mile wide lake is a mirror of dazzling unearthly blue, and is framed
by the raw rock of the towering rim walls.
Although this photo was taken in summer you can see there is still some snow.
Averaging 40 feet of snow a year, Crater Lake,
only shrugs its white winter coat for a brief summer.
Crater Lake is perched 6,000 feet up in the Cascade Mountain Range in Southern Oregon.
|
|
West Rim
|
East Rim
|
|
Crater Lake was formed when an ancient volcano, Mt. Mazama, collapsed back into the earth after a shattering eruption. over the past half a million years, Mt. Mazama built itself up through many eruptions to a height of 12,000 feet. One last eruption 7,000 years ago blasted out so much of the magma collected beneath the volcano that the suddenly hollow Mt. Mazama sank into the gap, and disappeared.
|
This is a distant view of Crater Lake from nearby Mt. Scott.
|
|
Crater Lake's rim walls are the outlying slopes that were left behind as the
center of the mountain sank out of sight. Rain water, and snow melt filled
the volcanic caldera, creating one of the deepest lakes in the world.
The Peaks atop the rim soar up to 2,000 feet above the water line, and the
lake bottom lake drops another 2,000 feet at its maximum depth.
The bright orange outcrop seen on the crater slope in this photo (right edge- center) is called "Pumice Castle".
|
|
The eruption is estimated to have been dozens of times more powerful than the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980. The local Klamath Indians have legends about the eruption. The god of the underworld Llao lived under Mt. Mazama which was at that time a tall cone shaped volcano. The narrow throat of the volcano was a passage way for Llao into the above world. On one of his trips to the above world Llao noticed a beautiful princess among the Klamath Indians who lived nearby. He fell in love with her but - was rejected. Seeking vengeance he attacked the Klamath tribe with fire, darkness, and landslides. The people appealed to Skell, the god of the Sky, for help. Skell came down from the sky and landed on the distant Mt. Shasta. Llao and Skell battled each other hurling fireballs from their thrones atop the two mountains. Finally LLao was defeated and Skell collapsed Mt. Mazama on top of him, forever trapping him in the underworld.
|
Sunrise view of Phantom Ship.
|
Boat Tour
|
Tour boats cruise the lake offering close up views of rim walls, and passage to Wizard Island. The boat tours begin from the dock at Cleetwood Cove. To reach the dock follow the Cleetwood Cove trail as it descends down into the crater to the lake shore. The trail begins across from the Cleetwod Cove parking area, and drops 675 feet down in a series of steep switchbacks.
The only way back up to the parking area is the same trail you came
down. It is equivalent to climbing the stairs in a 50 story building.
The Cleetwood Cove trail is the only trail that descends down into the crater.
|
On the lake looking up at Skell Head and Pumice castle
|
Llao rock
|
Snow melt trickling down greens
the normally barren crater walls.
|
|
The boat tour around the lake offers you a chance to experience the dazzling
blue water close up. These photos don't do it justice. Its a deep navy
blue- a color familiar in artwork, and industry- but here it has the purity
and brilliance of the colors of a sunset. At one point the boat tour passes
the "Old Man of the Lake". A log floating vertically, with only
a few feet of its top peeking above the surface. The clear water allows
you to see far down its length.
|
Devil's Backbone
|
Devil's Backbone
|
|
Devil's Backbone, seen here from the boat tour, are huge walls of rock standing on the the rim slope. These fins were formed when hot magma squeezed into cracks. The solidified magma was harder than the surrounding rock. Over time erosion chipped away the mold leaving these fins jutting out.
|
Phantom Rock
|
The boat tour passes close to Phantom Rock seen in the left
photo close up,
and on the right from high above the lake on the crater rim. Phantom Ship
is named for its resemblance to a ghostly ship sailing on the lake and for
it's habit of often disappearing in the shifting sunlight.
|
Close up of Phantom Ship from boat tour
|
Phantom Ship from the rim.
(Small white wedge below Phantom Ship is the tour boat)
|
Phantom Ship in distance
|
Phantom Ship looking west
|
Wizard Island
|
The volcanism didn't end with the last eruption. Mini volcanoes, or cinder cones have begun to grow inside the caldera. Wizard island is a cinder
cone that rises 750 feet above the surface of the lake. Named for its
resemblance to a sorcerer's hat. Wizard island is only 7,000 years old. It is only reachable by a scheduled boat tour from Cleetwood Cove.
|
Wizard Island from the rim.
|
Wizard Island from west rim
|
On the boat approaching Wizard Island
|
Rocky shore of Wizard Island
|
|
The boat tour stops at Wizard Island, and if you wish you can get
off here.
|
|
A trail begins at the boat dock and spirals around the cinder cone, climbing 750 feet in
a short distance, to the top of Wizard Island. There are steep drop-offs and treacherous slopes.
In the photo on the left- lichen covered trees line the trail to the top. The trail offers spectacular views of Crater Lake. The photo on the right was taken on the trail near the top and looks back along the neck of land that almost connects Wizard Island to the west rim.
|
|
|
|
Once you reach the top of Wizard Island you see that it is crowned with a crater of its own.
The crater is 90 ft. deep and 300 ft. across. The photo on the left was taken from the crater lip looking west. In the back ground is the far greater rim wall of Crater Lake. Visible here is the trail curling down to the bottom from the right. If you look carefully you will see two hikers directly opposite on the other side of the crater rim. The photo on the right was taken from the bottom of the crater looking up the steep slope.
|
|
|
Nearby to Crater Lake
|
Mt. Scott, is a nearby mountain with a good view of Crater Lake. The photo on the right was taken on the trail up Mt. Scott. In the lower right of this photo you can see Wizard Island. Its a 1,500 foot hike from the trail head to the top of Mt. Scott. There is a weather station atop the mountain that is visible from the trail-head, and this helps to give a sense of scale to the mountain. Mt. Scott makes for a wonderful morning hike.
The peak is at 9,000 feet, about 3,000 feet above the waters of the lake.
|
|
|
Close by to Crater Lake is more evidence of its volcanic origins. The Pinnacles are "fossilized" volcanic steam vents. When Mt. Mazama erupted it rained down ash, covering some areas to a depth of 50 feet. Steam bubbled up through the ash forming vent holes. The heat of the steam fused the ash of the vent walls into rock. These chimneys remained after the ash cooled. Nearby Wheeler Creek swept away the surrounding loose ash leaving the hollow Pinnacles standing free
|
|
The photo on the right was taken at sunrise.
I've duplicated this photo using Vista Pro a 3-D landscape generating program,
and actual USGS digital map information. Here is the
Vista Pro rendering
and here are the two images side by side
Note the shadow of the Wizard Island cinder cone just touching the crater wall
|
|
More Crater Lake Photos with descriptions.
All images ©John Donohue 1995,1996,2002
Up to John Donohue's HomePage
|
|
