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Crater Lake National Park Facts

Crater Lake National Park Facts
Crater Lake National Park is an 183,224 acre park located in Oregon in the United States. In 5700 BC Mount Mazama, a volcano where Crater Lake now lies, erupted and its summit collapsed, which left behind a large caldera that later filled with water and became Crater Lake. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in Oregon and in United States, the second deepest in North America, and the ninth deepest in the world. Crater Lake National Park was established in 1902, by President Theodore Roosevelt after more than 30 years of efforts by William Gladstone Steel, who devoted his life and his private fortune to protect the area by the establishment of the park. He is also known as the 'father of Crater Lake'.
Interesting Crater Lake National Park Facts:
Mount Mazama was a 12,000 foot tall volcano. When it erupted and collapsed roughly 7700 years ago the summit became a large hole that eventually filled with water.
Native Americans believed that Crater Lake was a spiritual place, but once the gold prospectors arrived, interest in the lake as a tourist destination slowly drove the Klamath people away.
The Klamath legend states that two chiefs Llao and Skell battled each other and the result was the destruction of Mount Mazama, Chief Llao's home.
Crater Lake was originally named Deep Blue Lake by the gold prospectors that first visited the lake in 1853. Locals preferred Crater Lake and the earlier name disappeared.
Visitors to Crater Lake can enjoy swimming, boating, fishing, and other water activities but the only access to the lake is by Cleetwood Trail. Boats in Crater Lake had to be delivered via a helicopter.
There is a 33 mile long road to access observation points at the rim of Crater Lake called Rim Drive, but lake access is not possible via this road.
William Gladstone Steel, the 'father of Crater Lake', first read about the lake from a piece of newspaper that had been used to wrap his lunch, in 1870. He became obsessed and in 1886 wrote articles for West Shore, a magazine in Oregon, after visiting the lake.
The water in Crater Lake comes from rain and snow; there are no streams or rivers flowing into or out of the lake.
Snow covers Crater Lake National Park eight months of the year.
There are 50 foot tall pinnacles in Crater Lake National Park that rise from Sand Creek Canyon. They were once the steam vents for the volcano.
There are 800 year old trees growing on Wizard Island in Crater Lake.
Trails in the park include Cleetwood Cove, The Watchman, Lightning Spring, Castle Crest Wildflower Garden, Plaikni Falls, and Garfield Peak.
Crater Lake reached depths of 1943 feet. It is clear enough to be able to see at least 100 feet down into the water.
Features of the park include Mount Scott (a cone created from Mount Mazama's magma chamber), Union Peak (extinct volcano), Crater Peak (shield volcano), Timber Crater (shield volcano), Rim Drive (road to the rim of Crater Lake), and 50,000 acres of old growth forests.


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