Wandering West Day 21 - Silver Blue Jewel

BEND, OR - I have always wanted to see Crater Lake so I worked it into my route home along with the Oregon Coast. It did not disappoint and was one of the highlights of my trip. Fascinating in a number of ways, I'll just list the highlights. Crater Lake:

• Is 6 mile wide at its widest point


• Sits in a caldera which was created by the eruption and collapse of Mt. Mazama almost 7,000 years ago


• Is 1,932 ft deep, deepest in the US and second deepest in North America (first is Great Slave Lake in Canada)


• Is 20 miles around


• Contains Wizard Island which is also a volcano formed after the collapse


• Has no inlets or tributaries and is filled exclusively by rain and snow melt


• Has an elevation of 6,178 at its surface making the entire lake (to the bottom) above sea level


• Gets and average of 533 inches of snow per year

Crater Lake

Indian Paintbrush

About 190 miles