Crater Lake National Park
Founded in 1902, Crater Lake National Park in southwestern Oregon protects the deepest lake in the United States. No rivers or streams flow into Crater Lake, rather the lake is entirely fed by rain and snow melt. As a result, the lake is considered to be the cleanest large body of water in the world. The waters of Crater Lake are known for their exceptional clarity and intense blue color. The deepest part of Crater Lake is 1,943 feet (about 200 feet deeper than Lake Tahoe) and its width measures between 4.5 to 6 miles across.
The lake rests inside a caldera formed 7,700 years ago when a 12,000-foot-tall volcano called Mount Mazama collapsed following a major eruption. Scientists believe that the eruption of Mount Mazama may have been the largest in North America in the past 640,000 years. So much ash was thrown into the sky by the eruption that if you gathered it all up and spread it evenly across the state of Oregon, it would form a layer 8 inches thick. Today, old-growth forests blanket the volcano’s slopes, harboring more than 700 native plant species and at least 72 types of mammals.
One of the key features of Crater Lake is Wizard Island which is actually a volcano inside a volcano. The island is a cinder-cone volcano that emerged from the lake around 7,300 years ago when a shower of fiery cinders piled into a symmetrical cone. Lava flows then pushed through the loose cinders, creating “tongues” of blocky lava that comprise the rest of the island. At the summit of Wizard Island is a crater that measures 470 feet across and 90 feet deep. During the summer months, guests who have hiked down from the rim to the lake’s shoreline can take ranger lead boat tours over to Wizard Island where they can hike to the crater or swim in the emerald blue waters of the lake.
Roughly a half million guests visit Crater Lake National Park annually. Entering the national park from either the north or south, guests drive up the slopes of the former volcano through old-growth forests of Douglas fir and pine until they reach the rim of the crater. On the southern rim is Rim Village which features a great paved trail along the crater’s rim with spectacular views. There are also shops, restaurants, and the Crater Lake Lodge (circa 1915) located at Rim Village. There is a 33-mile rim road that circumnavigates the crater and has numerous overlooks that offer spectacular views of Crater Lake. Storms off the Pacific Ocean annually dump an average of 42 feet of snow on Crater Lake National Park. Although the park is open all year, typically the north entrance and the rim roads are closed during the winter months with only the southern entrance open giving access to the Rim Village. During my visit to Crater Lake National Park in early October, I was really on the end of the season with road closures scheduled for pending snow as I was departing.
Just outside the national park is the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest where its namesake, the Rogue River, flows on its 215-mile journey westward from the Cascade Range to the Pacific Ocean. As the river run throughs this ancient volcanic landscape, it creates some spectacular scenery like the Rogue Gorge where the river cascades through a constricted channel of basalt lava that has be carved out of the centuries. Another interesting feature along the river’s path is Hidden Bridge where the river disappears under a lava flow. The river actually flows for 200 feet inside an ancient lava tube before re-emerging downstream. Further downstream, the Rogue River flows through a deep valley and there are numerous dramatic waterfalls like Mill Creek Falls (173 feet) and Barr Creek Falls (242 feet) that cascade into the river bed below.
