Crater Lake and Wizard Island Crater Lake and Wizard Island

Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, USA

Crater Lake is a caldera lake located in the U.S. state of Oregon.

It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a nearly 1,958 foot (597 m) deep caldera that was formed around 7,700 years ago by the collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama.

On June 12, 1853, John Wesley Hillman was reportedly the first European American to see what he named "Deep Blue Lake" in Oregon. The lake was renamed at least three times, as Blue Lake, Lake Majesty, and finally Crater Lake. Crater Lake is known for the "Old Man of the Lake", a full-sized tree that has been bobbing vertically in the lake for more than a century.

Due to the cold water, the tree has been rather well preserved. While having no indigenous fish population, the lake was stocked from 1888 to 1941 with a variety of fish. Several species have formed self sustaining populations. The commemorative Oregon State Quarter, which was released by the United States Mint in 2005, features an image of Crater Lake on its reverse.

Dimensions and depth
The lake is 5 by 6 miles (8 km × 10 km) across with an average depth of 1,148 feet (350 m). Its deepest point has been measured at 1,949 feet (594 m) deep, though as with any lake its depth fluctuates with the climate, particularly rainfall. This makes Crater Lake the deepest lake in the United States, the second deepest lake in North America (Great Slave Lake is the deepest) and the ninth deepest lake in the world (Lake Baikal is the deepest).

Crater Lake is often cited as the 7th deepest lake in the world, but this ranking excludes Lake Vostok, which is situated under nearly 13,000 feet (4,000 m) of Antarctic ice, and the recent soundings of San Martín Lake, which is located on the border of Chile and Argentina. However, on the basis of comparing average depths among the world's deepest lakes, Crater Lake becomes the deepest lake in the Western Hemisphere and the third deepest in the world. Comparing average depths among the world's lakes whose basins are entirely above sea level, Crater Lake is the deepest. The caldera rim of Crater Lake ranges in elevation from 7,000 to 8,000 feet (2,100 to 2,400 m).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crater_Lake

 

 

Virtual Tour

Click the image below to view the Crater Lake Virtual Tour

View the Crater Lake Virtual Tour

View the Crater Lake Virtual Tour

 

 

Wizard Island Wizard Island

Pumice Castle Pumice Castle
Pumice Castle Pumice Castle
Phantom Ship Phantom Ship

 

 

 

Location