Crater Lake National Park - Oregon

Established May 22, 1902 183,227 acres

A view of Wizard Island in Crater Lake

Few forget their first view of Crater Lake on a blue sky day, it will forever change what you think of as "Blue" — 21 square miles of water so intensely blue it could be ink rather than water, ringed by cliffs towering up to 2,000 feet above its surface.

The tranquil Gem of the Cascades is set in a dormant volcano called Mount Mazama, one in the chain of volcanoes that includes Mount. St. Helens. Mount Mazama's final eruption occurred around 5700 BC. The explosion catapulted volcanic ash miles into the sky and expelled so much pumice and ash that soon Mount Mazama's summit collapsed, creating a huge, smoldering caldera.

Over the centuries, rain and snow-melt accumulated in this caldera, forming a lake more than 1,900 feet deep, the deepest lake in the United States. Wildflowers, along with hemlock, fir, and pine, recolonized the lava-covered surroundings. Black bears and bobcats, deer and marmots, eagles and hawks returned.

Scientists have yet to understand completely Crater Lake's ecology. In 1988 and 1989, using a manned submarine, they discovered evidence that proves hydrothermal venting exists on the lake's bottom and may play a role in the lake's character.

Crater Lake forms a superb setting for day hikes. Thanks to some of the cleanest air in the nation, you can see more than 100 miles from points along many of the park's 140 miles of trails. Forests of mountain hemlock and Shasta red fir predominate near the caldera rim. At the rim twisted white-bark pine testify to the harshness of the long winter, during which, on average, 45 feet of snow fall. Ponderosa pine, the park's largest tree, and lodgepole pine are common farther down from the rim.

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