Crater Lake: the deepest lake in the United States, born of a collapsed volcano

Some 7,700 years ago, a volcano in Oregon, Mount Mazama, emptied itself in a gigantic eruption, then collapsed in on itself. The basin filled with rain and melted snow. The result is an almost round lake, 9 km across, of a blue so intense that it looks retouched.

History and origins

No river flows into the lake, and none flows out. The water comes only from the sky. It is therefore exceptionally pure, and that’s what gives it its colour. At 594 metres, it’s the deepest lake in the United States.

The Klamath witnessed the eruption: their stories tell of it as a battle between the god of the sky and the god of the underworld. For them the lake is a sacred place. Settlers only discovered it in 1853. It became a national park in 1902, one of the very first in the country.

What to do there

• The road around the lake: 53 km along the crater rim, with around thirty overlooks. Allow two to three hours.
• Rim Village: the point of arrival, with the visitor center, an old lodge of wood and stone and the first view of the lake.
• Wizard Island: a small volcanic cone rising out of the water, born after the collapse. You see it very well from Watchman Overlook.
• Watchman Peak: a short climb to a fire lookout, with the best overall view. The place to be at sunset.
• Phantom Ship: an islet of jagged rock that looks like a ghost ship under sail.
• Cloudcap Overlook: the highest overlook on the road.
• The Pinnacles: at the end of a side road, spires of hardened ash as tall as buildings.

Stories and good to know

• A tree trunk has been floating upright in the lake for more than a century. It’s called “the Old Man of the Lake”, and it drifts from one shore to the other with the wind.
• The lake had no fish at all. Trout and salmon were introduced at the end of the 19th century.
• In calm weather, you can see more than 30 metres down.

Practical information for your road trip

• Pass: the America the Beautiful pass covers the entrance fee. Everything is explained in our guide to the national parks pass.
• Getting there: the park is about 1 hr 30 from Medford and 2 hrs from Bend. The north entrance closes in winter.
• On site: a petrol station in summer, at Mazama Village, and two restaurants. Nothing else within an hour’s drive.
• Clothing: the crater rim is above 2,100 metres. It’s cool and windy there, even in August.
• Where to stay: in the park, at Crater Lake Lodge or Mazama Village. Otherwise in the small towns around, an hour away.
• Combine it with: Redwood and the Oregon coast, or Lassen Volcanic, further south.