Crater Lake was formed when Mt. Mazama (one of the volatile Cascade Mountains) had a massive eruption (40 times the more recent Mt. St. Helens (another Cascade Mt.) eruption) 8,000 years ago. The result of all the magma released resulted in a collapse of the remaining mountain which dropped about 5,000 ft. The drop created a 6 mile wide crater, which is now a lake, not fed by any stream. The lake is filled by rain and winter snows, approximately 1,600 ft. deep, the deepest in the US and one of the deepest in the world. Because it is so deep, all the colors of visible light have been absorbed except blue, resulting in deep, deep blue water. Unfortunately, the area gets 40 ft of snow/year and the national park rangers spend 4 mo/year clearing the snow, starting in May. When we got there, only a small portion of the rim was open, with 6-10 feet of snow piled high next to the road. It was about 40 degrees with a strong, cold wind. I accidently hit the video button on the camera vs. picture; the video is at the bottom of this entry.
On the way up there we went by the Rogue River; below a more peaceful part of it; guys fishing.
Other parts were roaring, two videos at the bottom of this entry; it was really cooking.
Went into Ashland, visited a market where it seemed everything was organic. Everything we got was excellent, arugula, olive oil, fresh baked bread. Below one of the local's tents. Why can't we get stuff like this in HH?
Great shot of this young lady playing the cello and singing in front of her family's goat dairy tent. Double click on it to enlarge it.
Also went to the lava beds, home of the largest collection of lava tubes (caves left after the lava left the center of the tunnels). Fun for exploring, caves/tubes everywhere.
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