Crater Lake is a caldera lake located in south-central Oregon. It is 8 by 9.7 kilometers (5 by 6 miles) across, with a caldera rim ranging in elevation from 2,100 to 2,400 meters. It is the deepest lake in the United States and the second deepest in North America.
At its deepest point it is about 1,949 feet. It has a surface area of 53 square kilometers. The lake is isolated from surrounding streams and rivers so there is no inlet or outlet to it. It is filled with rain and melted snow from the caldera basin.
Fast Facts: –
- The basin that eventually became Crater Lake formed when a 12,000-foot-tall volcano called Mount Mazama erupted and collapsed 7,700 years ago.
- The average annual precipitation is 168 centimetres and average annual snowfall is 13 metres in the region.
- This lake has 1 kilometres (21.8 miles) of shoreline.
- There are two islands in the lake which are Wizard Island and Phantom Ship. There are 800-year-old trees growing on Wizard Island.
- Phantom Ship is an ancient rock formation resembling a large, abandoned sea vessel standing 170 feet above the water.
- This lake is so clear that you can see more than 100 feet down.
- In June 1853, John Wesley Hillman became the first non-Native American explorer to sight this lake.
- A 30-foot long hemlock log has been floating upright in the lake for over 100 years. It is called the “Old Man of the Lake”.
- Snow covers Crater Lake National Park eight months of the year.
