Crate Lake was formed when ~12,000 foot (3657 meter) Mt Mazama erupted about 7700 years ago. Mt Mazama was formed over hundreds of thousands of years of small, overlapping eruptions. The major eruption lasted a few days and reduced Mazam's 12,000 foot peak to a mere 8157 feet (2486 meters). The eruption ejected over 12 cubic miles (50 cubic kilometers) of volcanic material over it's nearly week long eruption. For comparison, the Mt St. Helens eruption in 1980 ejected 0.12 cubic miles (.5 cubic kilometers) of volcanic material.

The eruption sent an ash cloud 31 miles (49 kilometers) into the sky.

After several days of eruption, the magma chamber below the summit collapsed, leaving a giant caldera over six miles in diameter.

About 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, the accumulation of rain and snow filled the caldera. It took about 250 years for the caldera to fill to its present-day lake level, which is maintained by a balance between precipitation and evaporation plus seepage.

At 1,949 feet (594 meters) deep, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US, holding 4.9 trillion gallons of water!!

This is a great USGS (United States Geologic Survey) site with lots of maps, diagrams and facts to nerd out to.

A few years back I took the kids down to California and we flew right over the lake!

Crater Lake is located in remote, southern Oregon, about 60 miles north of the California border.

The drive from Portland is about 4.5 hours, which makes it about 7 hours drive from my house.

Crater Lake National Park was formed on May 22, 1902. It is one of the snowiest places in the US, receiving, on average, 40 feet of snow each year. The park is open year round but most the roads and attractions are closed in the winter.

Here are some average weather stats for the park.

Wizard Island is an ancient cinder cone island in the western end of the lake, and is accessible by a guided boat tour.

This is something I simply must do! They offer a two hour lake cruise as well as two island shuttles where they drop you on the island for three hours to explore. You can also fish and swim in the lake from the island. Again, I need to do this :D

This was always on the list of camping spots when the kids were little, however, to get to the dock you need to hike the Cleetwood Cove Trail. which is steep and can be strenuous, as there is approximately 700 ft. elevation change on the mile long trail.

There is a 71 room lodge on the caldera rim, about 1000 feet above the lake, as well as a cabins and a campground within a few miles of the park.

Don't think I can make it down to visit before the snow flies this year, but might have to make it a priority for 2025.

Here's a short animation of the Mt Mazama eruption and collapse.

Have you visited this natural wonder? I'd love to hear about it if you have, post your pictures too :D