Crater Lake l Unbelievable Water Clarity

Crater Lake Facts

Perhaps most notably, the mind-blowing site known as Crater Lake remains best known, and in fact quite famous, for two things. These, quite understandably, consist of the gorgeous color and incredible clarity of the water within its boundaries.
In fact, the magnificent lake routinely ranks in the top five among bodies of fresh water with the greatest clarity. The famous distinctive bluish hue of the waters occurs due to the combination of its great clarity and extreme depth.
But the remarkable uniqueness of this marvel of Nature does not end there. This marvel of Nature also has two small islands within its confines. These two islands bear the names of Wizard Island and Phantom Ship.
Native Americans knew of the gorgeous site now called Crater Lake for untold centuries prior to its discovery by European explorers. The first of these individuals or groups to report sighting of it was John Wesley Hillman, in 1853.

Crater Lake Physical Description

Firstly, the incredibly stunning beauty of Crater Lake often overshadows the great volume of the site. The geological beauty quietly conceals a maximum measured water depth of an astounding 1,949 ft (594 m).

As a result, it ranks as the deepest lake in its country, and ninth in the entire world. But it isn’t just deep, to be certain. It also has a large overall area. The lake has a slightly rectangular shape, measuring 5 mi by 6 mi (8 by 9.6 km).

It also remains unusual for another reason. It has no bodies of water flowing into it. In a natural balance, evaporation is roughly compensated for by rainfall and melting snow. This makes it one of the few such lakes on earth.

The two small islands within the gorgeous Crater Lake further have distinctly different natures. Wizard Island is a cinder cone, roughly 316 acres (128 ha) in area. Phantom Ship, meanwhile, is a naturally formed pillar of rock.

Crater Lake Location, Geology, and Climate

The awesome Crater Lake formed in what now is the state of Oregon, in the United States, in North America. This wonder of Nature now forms the principal feature in Crater Lake National Park, in the south-central part of the state.

This amazing lake sits in the caldera of an extinct volcano, named Mount Mazama. This volcano erupted quite violently roughly 7,700 years ago. Part of the Cascade Range, this volcano has now been quiet for about 6,000 years.

However, minimal amounts of geothermal activity still routinely appear along the floor of the breathtaking Crater Lake. This further indicates that, although considered unlikely, it has the potential to one day erupt again.

Finally, the region has a subalpine climate. As a a result of its great elevation and the influence of the North Pacific High, it has a very rare dry-summer climate. Summers therefore tend to be dry and mild, but winters are cold, with enormous snowfall amounts.