The road to the north entrance is Route 138 and for this stretch, you could see for over 13 miles.
Just before reaching the lake, we drove through this pumice desert where ash lies 50 ft. deep.
Hopefully these pictures capture some of the intensity of the lake’s stunning bluish appearance. We drove nearly the 33 miles around lake. In case you don’t know, Crater Lake was formed about 7,700 years ago after Mt. Mazama had a massive volcanic explosion, leaving a huge bowl-shaped caldera about 6 miles wide. Eventually, through more volcanic activity the bottom sealed, allowing snow and rain to collect to form the lake. Remarkably, it is considered a closed ecological system as no streams run in or out of the lake. Its water is among the purest in the world. It is also the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1,943 ft.
One of the features of the lake is Wizard Island, a cinder-cone volcano that erupted out of the lake about 7,300 years ago. Notice the emerald blue pools on the island. Yellow tree pollen mixing with the bluish appearance of the water gives the pools their emerald color.
Another feature of the lake is called Phantom Ship, a rock formation jutting out of the lake that resembles a small ship. Although it looks small from afar, it's actually taller than a 16 story building at it's highest point.
Nearby, these pinnacles or volcanic spires formed as volcanic gas rose up through hot ash deposits, cementing the ash into solid rock.
Pumice Castle is orange pumice rock that has eroded into the shape of a castle.
Well, OK, we'll end with one car feature!
