When I found out that Crater Lake's average temperature is 38°F and that we would just be looking at it, I was a bit bummed out. But when we drove over the ridge and saw the bright blue water in front of us I realized that I was looking at some of the most beautiful scenery in the country, if not the world.
Crater Lake fills a crater that was created at the top of Mount Mazama after a HUGE eruption 7,700 years ago. The lake is considered to be one of the purest in the world, meaning almost no pollutants! With a maximum depth of 1,949 feet, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the US and one of the deepest in the world. Since the surface of the lake is 6,178 ft above sea level, the surrounding areas experience about 550 inches of snow each year, which translates to about 1.5 inches of snow per day! This winter saw depths of up to 12 feet!
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| The deep blue waters of Crater Lake |
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| The volcano within a volcano Wizard Island |
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| What a view! |
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| Water doesn't get much cleaner than this |
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| Almost fell in! |
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| There is still some snow around the rim of the lake |
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| Snow in August! |
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| Best lunch spot on the planet! |
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| Plaikni Falls - The biggest waterfall in Crater Lake National Park |
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| So cool it deserves another picture |
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| The bottom of Plaikni Falls |
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| What Tamara would look like if she was a tree |
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| The Pinnacles - Hollow structures formed by hot gases escaping through tens of feet of sediment. The sediment has since dispersed, leaving a view of the pinnacles jutting out of the valley walls |
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| The park rangers told us that despite the forcast of 50% chance of thunderstorms they had no doubt that we would get drenched tonight |
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| WRONG! Except for some lightning that we could see miles off in the distance, we had perfectly clear skies over our dry campsite |
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