Inside a Crater

We left the campsite earlier than we needed to catch the boat tour of the lake but it gave us an opportunity to drive the Rim Road one more time and to have a nice picnic lunch sitting on a log swatting mosquitoes.

The Crater Lake Boat Tour was definitely the highlight of this trip. Again today we had to hike a mile down (and back up) to the lake's edge where we boarded a boat that circled the lake while Ranger Mike gave us descriptions of what we were seeing and answering questions. The day was sunny and hot but on a cold lake surface, it was very pleasant.

There are many features of the rock walls that geologists interpret were caused when the volcano erupted. It happened over 7700 years ago and may have been witnessed by native Americans. There were actually 5 volcanos that made up this mountain with lava tubes and vents all around the lake. After the initial eruption which would have lasted about a week, the collapse of the mountain top only took a few hours. Later other smaller lava flows and eruptions left new volcanos inside the crater, one of which is an island visible in the water.

Wind, rain and snow have changed the landscape and will continue to do so. In one of the pictures you will see Wizard Island towering 700 feet over the water. Pumice Castle is due to erosion, and Phantom Ship is a small island made of lava rocks and is actually as tall as a 16 story building.

We learned about the scientific reason the lake is so blue but suffice it to say it involves the purity of the water and the depth of the crater and the way light is refracted in the water. You will find no purer water or air in the USA and no other lake will ever be this blue.

We had a delightful dinner at the Crater Lake Lodge but then the mood of the evening was ruined when the Jeep refused to start due to a totally dead battery. The park maintenance man tried to jump it once, it wouldn't start so he took us to the RV. That's when we discovered we had left the keys in the Jeep so back up to the Lodge, 13 miles of curvy roads. The maintenance man then drove to his personal pickup truck, got a spare battery out of it and jumped the Jeep. This is an employee who went above and beyond the call of duty!