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“An overmastering conviction came to me that this wonderful spot must be saved ... and that it was up to me to do something about it.”

— William Gladstone Steel,
“father” of Crater Lake
National Park

Crater Lake National Park

Located in southern Oregon’s Cascade Range, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. and the seventh deepest lake in the world. In addition to the lake, the park’s 249 square miles include mountaintop vistas and forested valleys.

An Extraordinary Setting

Established as a national park in 1902, Crater Lake was formed 7,700 years ago when a volcano, Mount Mazama, erupted and collapsed onto itself, forming a caldera, or volcanic basin. Over the centuries the crater was filled by rain and snow. Because the lake has no inlets or outlets, it is replenished by annual snowfall averaging 533 inches, or more than 44 feet. Evaporation and seepage prevent Crater Lake from becoming significantly deeper than 1,950 feet.

Most Famous Feature

The lake’s intense blue color, which stems from both the extreme depth and the purity of the water.

Best-Kept Secret

Although rainbow trout and kokanee live in the lake — and fishing is encouraged —they are not indigenous, but were stocked between 1888 and 1941.