Crater Lake National Park - Oregon
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Hikenutty
N 42° 56.271 W 122° 08.695
10T E 569766 N 4754267
Crater Lake is a caldera lake located within the state of Oregon. The lake fills a 4,000 feet deep caldera that was formed when the volcano Mount Mazama collapsed. The park is considered one of the crown jewels of the National Park System.
Waymark Code: WM2J31
Location: Oregon, United States
Date Posted: 11/09/2007
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member MNSearchers
Views: 84

Crater Lake National Park's major feature, of course, is Crater Lake itself. The following information about the lake is from the article about the lake and park on Wikipedia:
Crater Lake is a caldera lake 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 4,000 feet (1,220 m) deep caldera that was formed around 5,677 (± 150) BC by the collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama.

The lake is 5 by 6 miles (8 by 9.6 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 seventh deepest lake in the world (Lake Baikal is the deepest). The caldera rim ranges in elevation from 7,000 to 8,000 feet (2,130 to 2,440 m).

Mount Mazama, part of the Cascade Range volcanic arc, was built up mostly of andesite, dacite, and rhyodacite over a period of at least 400,000 years. The caldera was created in a massive volcanic eruption that lead to the subsidence of Mount Mazama around 5700 BC: about 50 cubic kilometers (12 cubic miles) of rhyodacite was erupted in this event. Since that time, all eruptions on Mazama have been confined to the caldera.

Lava eruptions later created a central platform, Wizard Island, Merriam Cone, and other, smaller volcanic features, including a rhyodacite dome that was eventually created atop the central platform. Sediments and landslide debris also covered the caldera floor.

In time, the caldera cooled, allowing rain and snow to accumulate and eventually form a lake. Landslides from the caldera rim thereafter formed debris fans and turbidite sediments on the lake bed. Fumaroles and hot springs remained common and active during this period.

Also after some time, the slopes of the lake's caldera rim more or less stabilized, streams restored a radial drainage pattern on the mountain, and dense forests began to revegetate the barren landscape. Some hydrothermal activity remains along the lake floor, suggesting that at sometime in the future Mazama may erupt once again.

Due to several unique factors, most prominently that it has no inlets or tributaries, the waters of Crater Lake are some of the purest in terms of the absence of pollutants in North America. Secchi disk clarity readings have consistently been in the high-20 meter to mid-30 meter (80-115 ft) range, which is very clear for any natural body of water. In 1997, scientists recorded a record clarity of 43.3 meters (142 ft).

Coordinate given are at the rim of the crater of Wizard Island. Boat tours of the lake are available and there is an option to stop and spend some time on the island. The view of the lake from there is gorgeous.

Park Name: Crater Lake National Park

Historic/Cultural Park: yes

Natural Park: yes

Recreation Area: yes

Wildlife Refuge: no

Park Website: [Web Link]

Type of Listing: Major Park Feature

Fees in Local Currency: 10.00 (listed in local currency)

Dates of Access: From: 01/01/2007 To: 12/31/2007

Hours available: From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM

Hiking: yes

Camping: yes

Bicycling: yes

Horseback Riding: yes

Swimming: yes

Snorkling/Scuba: no

Boating: yes

Rock Climbing: yes

Fishing: yes

Other Activities:
At one time steelhead were planted in the lake. They are now trying to take them out to return the lake to natural. Supposedly some of these fish are up to 30" long. You can fish from Wizard Island if you stop there on the boat tour.


Other Park Type not listed above: Not listed

Other Type Detail: Not listed

Off-Roading: Not Listed

Visit Instructions:

A log will require a recent photograph at the coordinates. Some of these locations will be placed for the scenery, so a gpsr will just ruin the picture.

If you don't have a digital camera post a descriptive log.

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