Crater Lake: Visitors to Crater Lake National Park are greeted by the most beautiful lake anywhere when they arrive. Shown is cone shaped Wizard Island on the western side of the lake. Cliffs can be seen wrapping around the north side of Crater Lake. The most dominant feature of the lake is the brilliant blue colors of the water. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Wizard Island: Wizard Island is one of two islands on the lake. This island is 316 acres in size and cannot be missed when viewing the lake from any viewpoints circling the lake on the Rim Drive. Wizard Island has a top elevation of 6,933 which is about 700 feet above the water level of the lake. Wizard Island is a volcanic peak itself making it a volcano within a volcano. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
Crater Lake is located in the Cascade Mountains in south central Oregon. Volcanic Mount Mazama was originally about 12,000 feet high in elevation when it first erupted about 8,000 years ago. A second eruption occurred 7,700 years ago and following the second eruption, the caldera collapsed creating a crater 2,000 feet deep. Following the second eruption the elevation of the mountain was lowered almost 4,000 feet.
Crater Lake filled with water from ample rain and snow melt over the years as this area of Oregon gets more than 500 inches of snow annually. There are no rivers that flow into or out of the lake. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. today at 1,943 feet deep. The lake is the center of Crater Lake National Park, which was established 1902.
Today, Crater Lake National Park welcomes more than 500,000 visitors annually. Most come to view Crater Lake, but other activities include hiking, biking, snow shoeing and cross country skiing. There is a campground in the park as well as lodging accommodations at Crater Lake Lodge.
Two islands are found in the waters of Crater Lake: the Phantom Ship and Wizard Island. The Phantom Ship is a rock formation that rises above the water surface on the south side of the lake. The more dominant Wizard Island is a large island that is a volcanic mountain itself. Wizard Island is cone shaped and more than 300 acres in size making it impossible to miss.
Crater Lake is an amazing site. The clear, deep waters are the most brilliant blue that I have ever seen. As you gaze across the water surface, the blue coloring of the water is captivating and is almost unbelievable.
The lake is about 6 miles wide at its widest point and the entire lake is surrounded by cliffs, which were left standing when the caldera collapsed creating the lake. The cliffs range from about 500 feet high to almost 2,000 feet high as they frame the circular lake.
Crater Lake National Park has created a drive, which circles the entire lake and offers numerous viewpoints for visitors. We visited the park in July and portions of the loop road were still not open from the winter snowfall. What we were able to drive and observe was amazing and each viewpoint offered a different perspective and view of the lake and the surrounding cliffs and mountains.
Crater Lake National Park is a must see national park if one is interested in seeing and experiencing the national parks. While there is a significant number of visitors at the park each year, it is easy to navigate and see sites throughout the park. Some of the more popular viewing points get crowded from time to time but the crowds are manageable making the visit to Crater Lake a fun and pleasant experience.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Tourists: A group of visitors mingle and view the beautiful sites from one of many viewpoints around the lake’s rim. The viewpoints are several hundred feet to almost 2,000 feet above the water level. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Deep Waters: Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. The deepest point is 1,943 feet. Shown are the deep blue waters in the northern portion of the Crater Lake, which includes the deepest points of the lake. The snow seen in the foreground is common even in the summer as Crater Lake receives the most annual snowfall of almost anywhere in the country with an annual snowfall of more than 500 inches. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
High Cliffs: High Cliffs rise above the lake surface all around the circular Crater Lake. The viewpoints are several hundred feet to almost 2,000 feet above the water level giving visitors a nice aerial view of the lake. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com