Crater Lake OR May 2006

We took a day trip to Crater Lake National Park in May 2006. We did not realize that the area is snow covered until the end of June or perhaps July. Average snowfall here is 44 feet per year!

We started to notice snow on the ground as we drove closer to the entrance to the national park.  When we got to the Visitor Center, below is what we saw.  Around to the right is an entrance through a snow tunnel.

The Administration Building was not in any better shape.

 

We had hoped for lunch at the cafe, but had to settle for hot chocolate and Famous Amos' chocolate chip cookies from the visitor center as the cafe was not yet open!

This is the viewing area for Crater Lake in winter.  It allows visitors to get close to the rim and keep out of the snow and mud.

Even the entrances to the rest rooms must go through snow tunnels!

 

But the view was every bit as anticipated.  Crater Lake was not formed from an impact crater, but from a volcano that collapsed on itself about 7000 years ago and eventually filled with water.

Crater Lake is 1943 feet deep and is the deepest lake in the US.  The rim village is at an  elevation of 7100 feet above sea level.  The area is snow covered for 9 months of the year.  May is too soon to visit!  The road around the rim is still closed and so is the north entrance road.

Wizard Island was formed by volcanic eruptions later than the one that formed Crater Lake.  That eruption produced more tha 150 times the ash as did Mt. St. Helens in 1980.  Ash was spread over 8 states and 3 Canadian Provinces.  Water in the lake is confined as there are no exits for water.  It is fed and replenished by springs, rain and snow melt.  Evaproation and seepage are about equal to the input so the level stays relatively constant.