Craterlake, Oregon |
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| Crater Lake National Park is located in southern Oregon on the crest of the Cascade Range, 100 miles from the Pacific coast. The National Park was established in 1902 and encompases 183,244 square miles. |
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| Crater Lake was formed after the collapse of an ancient volcano, posthumously named Mount Mazama |
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| This volcano violently erupted approximately 7700 years ago.That eruption was 42 times as powerful as the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. |
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| Individual stratovolcanoes and shields that make up Mount Mazama become younger in a west-northwest sense. The oldest Mazama lavas dated are flows near lake level at Phantom Ship and the lavas of Mount Scott (around 400,000 years). |
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| The basin or caldera was formed after the top 5000 feet of the volcano collapsed. Subsequent lava flows sealed the bottom, allowing the caldera to fill with approximately 4.6 trillion gallons of water from rainfall and snow melt, to create the seventh deepest lake in the world at 1,932 feet. |
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| Crater Lake, at 1,958 feet (597 meters) deep, is the seventh deepest lake in the world and the deepest in the United States. Evaporation and seepage prevent the lake from becoming any deeper. |
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| The lake averages more than five miles (8 km) in diameter, and is surrounded by steep rock walls that rise up to 2000 feet (600 meters) above the lake's surface. |
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| Following the collapse of Mount Mazama, lava poured into the caldera even as the lake began to rise. Today, a small volcanic island, Wizard Island, appears on the west side of the lake. This cinder cone rises 760 feet (233 meters) above the lake and is surrounded by black volcanic lava blocks. |
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| There are no inlets or outlets to the lake. Crater Lake, at 1,958 feet (597 meters) deep, is the seventh deepest lake in the world and the deepest in the United States. |
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| Crater Lake is widely known for its intense blue color and spectacular views. |
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| Crater Lake National Park attracts approximately 500,000 visitors per year, with the high season being July and August. |
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| The 33-mile Rim Drive encircles Crater Lake, with each mile giving a very different perspective of the lake, rim, and surrounding terrain. |
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