Crater Lake National Park gets 44 feet of snow each year which typically lasts 8 months. We visited the day after Rim Drive in the park opened for the season.
We met daughter (Elizabeth) Leigh and son-in-law Brett at nearby Diamond Lake overlook where we had great views of two nearby peaks: Mt. Bailey and Mt. Thielsen.
Mt. Bailey formed between 11,000-100,000 years ago. Its elevation is 8376.Mt. Thielsen formed about 300,000 years ago and is 9183 feet in elevation.
Crater Lake is a six-mile wide caldera that formed 7,700 years ago when 12,000-foot Mt. Mazama collapsed. The rim of the caldera varies in elevation from 7,000 to 8,000 feet.
We weren’t sure at first what the yellow was on the lake’s surface. We decided it was pollen.Brett and LeighBrett, Jane and LeighA view of the entire lakeDave and JaneA view of Llao RockAnother view of Llao RockLeigh and BrettPumice Castle is orange pumice that erosion has shaped.Close-up of Pumice CastleThe Pinnacles are spires being eroded from the canyon wall.The Pinnacles developed when volcanic gases rose up through cooling ash.Some of the pinnacles are 100 feet high.Wizard Island is a volcanic cinder cone that was created after the eruption of Mt. Mazama.The island is 315 acres and rises 755 feet above the lake’s surface (and 2,700 feet above the caldera floor).Wizard Island’s crater is 500 feet wide and 100 feet deep.Phantom Ship is an ancient volcanic cone in Crater Lake.Phantom Ship is the oldest rock in Crater Lake.Phantom Ship is 170 feet tall (as tall as a 16-story building) and measures 500 x 200 feet.
So great to pictures of Brett and Leigh (that may take me a bit to get used to). And great pictures of Crater Lake, one of the first trips with the Greer’s that led to number of trips together.
August 4, 2022 Vermont’s oldest geocache was closer to our campground near Albany, New York than our campground near Montpelier, Vermont so we treated it separately from other Vermont geocaches. Besides, it was harder to Read more…
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Susan Foster McClure · August 14, 2021 at 6:12 pm
So great to pictures of Brett and Leigh (that may take me a bit to get used to). And great pictures of Crater Lake, one of the first trips with the Greer’s that led to number of trips together.