Crater Lake National Park: Too Blue to be True?

There's a legend that says when the first Crater Lake visitors with color cameras took their photos to be developed, Kodak refunded their money, assuming the bright blue in the pictures was unnatural and must have been a mistake in the printing process. Little did Kodak know, the impossibly blue hue of Crater Lake was, in fact, real.

Perched on the crest of the Cascades in Southern Oregon, Crater Lake was formed when Mount Mazama collapsed 7,700 years ago following a volcanic eruption. With no inlets or outlets, the caldera is 1,943 feet deep, making it the deepest lake in the United States, and 7^th deepest in the world.

Crater Lake is only one of countless natural wonders in Oregon's Crater Lake National Park. By day, raft the world-famous Rogue River, bike along the rim of an extinct volcano and hike the Pacific Coast trail, enveloped in a rich bouquet of pine forest. By night, indulge in fresh, locally grown berries, cheeses and wines and enjoy the rare spectacle of classic Shakespearean theater under the stars.

Relax your mind, energize your body ignite the adventurer within as we explore Crater Lake National Park: a land of stunning and seemingly impossible beauty.

Did You Know…

Generous amounts of winter snow, averaging 533 inches (1,354 cm/44 feet) per year, supply Crater Lake with water.
The “Old Man” of Crater Lake is a mountain hemlock log that has been floating upright in the lake for more than 100 years! Wind currents enable the Old Man to travel to different locations around the lake.
On June 12, 1853, John Wesley Hillman was reportedly the first European American to see what he named “Deep Blue Lake” in Oregon. The lake was later renamed Crater Lake.
The waters of Crater Lake are some of the most pristine, pollutant-free in North America. In 1997, scientists recorded a record clarity of 43.3 meters (142 ft).
Some hydrothermal activity remains along the Crater Lake's floor, suggesting that at sometime in the future, Mazama may erupt once again.

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