Marion Gunderson Art (and the Farmer's Daughter)

To view the previous posts about Bill’s and my July trip to Oregon, at this blog’s home page, click on the “travel” category.

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The south side of America's deepest lake, Crater Lake (1,943 feet deep). This photo was taken a short distance to the west of Crater Lake Lodge.

From the south side of Crater Lake, looking to the northwest, including Wizard Island at the upper right. (Click photo to enlarge.)

Geologically speaking, the name Crater Lake is a misnomer.  Technically, Crater Lake lies in a crater, or more accurately, a caldera, which is produced when the center of a volcano caves into itself.  In this case, the transformation began approximately 7,700 years ago with the eruptions/destruction of formerly 12,000-foot-high Mount Mazama.

The Crater Lake caldera is five miles wide.  (The maximum lake width is six miles.)  The drive around the rim is thirty-three miles.  This lake became the Crater Lake National Park in 1902.  The park covers 183,224 acres.

Wizard Island, shown in the photo above, is a large cinder cone that rises 760 feet above the surface of Crater Lake.  Wizard Island provides evidence of volcanic activity occurring since the crater’s/caldera’s formation.

This sign and the sign below were posted on the south side of Crater Lake. (Click photo to enlarge.)

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Crater Lake now exists where Mt. Mazama once stood. (Click photo to enlarge.)

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Tags: Crater Lake, Oregon

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