RATING: ♦♦♦♦
Crater Lake National Park was on our list of places to see along our route through Oregon. All the pictures we had seen made the lake look so beautiful, blue and sunshiney.
But it seems we arrived in the area a little too early in the season. It was cold and snowy when we visited in mid-May, with about 10 feet of snow remaining on the ground from the winter. In order to see the crater, we had to either climb up the drifts that surrounded the lake or climb up the stairs in the visitor’s center to the second floor and look out the window.
Nevertheless, Crater Lake was worth the visit. At 1,949 feet deep, it is the deepest lake in the United States. It was formed around 5700 BC, when Mount Mazama collapsed into itself during a tremendous volcanic eruption, losing 2,500 to 3,500 feet in height. The eruption formed a large caldera that was filled in about 740 years, forming what is now known as Crater Lake, a beautiful lake with a deep blue hue.
The caldera rim ranges in elevation from 7,000 to 8,000 feet, and the lake surface is at 6,178 feet. The lake has no streams or rivers flowing into or out of it. All water that enters the lake comes from rain or snowfall.
It was an interesting drive through the park and up the mountain. We made a quick stop at a road marker that overlooked a deep river valley with cool rock formations.
