Crater Lake is located about 110 miles away from Canyonville, but we had always wanted to see it, so we made the trip. Fortunately, the trip to and from the lake offers great scenery which makes the trip worthwhile.
Crater Lake is at about 6,100' in elevation with the crater rim at over 7,000' As a result, the snow lasts well into the summer -- in fact, the north entrance which we used had just opened a couple weeks before on June 14 as the snow was cleared. Seeing this snow bank, we could sure understand the problem!
Finally, we climbed up to the rim road and got a view of Crater Lake. The first view of the lake is amazing -- it is so blue that you think it cannot be real, but of course, it is. The color is due to the super clear water and the great depth of the over 1,900' lake filling the volcano crater.
We traveled around the lake and were able to get great views of it from several angles. The contrast between the deep blue water and snow was great.
This snow field was next to the lake and still held LOTS of snow. Apparently folks ski up here in the summer,but we did not see anyone in action while we were there.
When you first see the lake, it is hard to get a real idea as to the size of the lake. However, there are tour boats that give rides on the lake and we saw one just off the point of Wizard Island in the picture above. This is a boat that holds 40 people and is just a white dot in the picture. We learned that the lake is 5 miles across by 6 miles long
Crater Lake is filled with snow runoff and rain, but has no inlet or outlet. As a result, it is said that it takes 250 years for the very cold (44 degree) water to run over.
Orinda loved our Crater Lake trip, even with the snow and cool temperatures. It was hard to believe that while we were in cold climes here, the east was in 100+ degrees.
What a picture! We were very fortunate to have a perfect day, no wind and a bright blue sky that was only exceeded by the blue lake. We talked to some folks that were sure that the Park Service dyed the lake blue as they could not believe it could be so blue naturally.
What a great day!
3 comments:
excellent photos. Visited Crater Lake years ago in May. Much Snow. Thanks for sharing--brings back memories.
Tremendous photos! Now, if only you had a "dash-cam" we wouldn't even need to go there next year.
Ron and Hazel
parked by Rainy Lake, Minnesota on the Canadian border, this beautiful Saturday morning.
Beautiful place and great pictures!
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