Crater Lake

Crater Lake
View from above. Wizard Island is in the south-west corner.
Survey of the lake's depth
Location	Klamath County, Oregon
Coordinates	42°56′37″N 122°06′24″W / 42.94361°N 122.10667°W / 42.94361; -122.10667
Type	crater lake
Primary inflows	precipitation and melted snow only
Primary outflows	evaporation and subsurface seepage only
Catchment area	23.3 sq mi (60 km2)
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	6 mi (9.7 km)
Max. width	5 mi (8.0 km)
Surface area	20.6 sq mi (53 km2)
Average depth	1,148 ft (350 m)
Max. depth	1,949 ft (594 m)
Water volume	4.49 cu mi (18.7 km3)
Residence time	157 years
Shore length1	21.8 mi (35.1 km)
Surface elevation	6,178 ft (1,883 m)
Islands	Wizard Island Phantom Ship
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Crater Lake is a caldera lake in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the main attraction of Crater Lake National Park. It is famous for its blue color and clear water. The lake partly fills a nearly 2,148-foot (655-meter) deep caldera.^[1] The volcanic crater was formed by the collapse of the volcano, Mount Mazama, about 7,500 years ago.^[2] There are no rivers flowing into or out of the lake.^[1] The evaporation is compensated for by rain and snowfall at a rate such that the total amount of water is replaced every 150 years.^[3]

In 1853, miner John Wesley Hillman made the first recorded visit to the lake.^[4][5] He named the lake "Deep Blue Lake". The lake was renamed at least three times, as Blue Lake, Lake Majesty, and finally Crater Lake.

Crater Lake is known for its famous piece of driftwood, named the Old Man of the Lake. It is a tree that has been moving up and down in the water for more than 100 years. The lake water is cold, so the tree is well preserved. Originally, fish did not live in the lake. However, people stocked the lake with different kinds of fish between 1888 and 1941.^[6] Several species of fish still live in the lake.

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} "Facts about Crater Lake". Oregon Explorer. Oregon State University. Archived from the original on March 22, 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
2. ↑ "Global Volcanism Program | Crater Lake | Summary". volcano.si.edu. 2012. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
3. ↑ Cranson, K. R. (2005). Crater Lake, gem of the Cascades: the geological story of Crater Lake National Park, Oregon (3rd ed.). Lansing, Mich: KRC Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0-9770880-0-3. A drop of water entering Crater Lake will remain there for about 150 years, its so-called residence time. Another way to think about residence time is the average amount of time required to refill a basin with new water if it were to be empted.
4. ↑ "John Wesley Hillman – Discovery of Crater Lake". craterlakeinstitute.com. 2008. Archived from the original on January 7, 2009. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
5. ↑ "John Wesley Hillman's dictated autobiographical memoir". hillmanc.fsnet.co.uk. 2008. Retrieved March 8, 2012.^{[permanent dead link]}
6. ↑ "Crater Lake National Park – Frequently Asked Questions (U.S. National Park Service)". nps.gov. 2012. Retrieved March 9, 2012.