Midwest Lakes Policy Center

Crater Lake

Crater Lake is located in Southern Oregon on the crest of the Cascade Mountain range, 100 miles (160 km) east of the Pacific Ocean. It lies inside a caldera, or volcanic basin, created when the 12,000 foot (3,660 meter) high Mount Mazama collapsed 7,700 years ago following a large eruption.

Large amounts of winter snow, averaging 533 inches (1,354 cm) per year, supply the lake with water. There are no inlets or outlets to the lake. Crater Lake, at 1,943 feet (592 meters) deep, is the seventh deepest lake in the world and the deepest in the United States. Evaporation and seepage prevent the lake from becoming any deeper.

The lake averages more than five miles (8 km) in diameter, and is surrounded by steep rock walls that rise up to 2000 feet (600 meters) above the lake's surface. Learn More

April 13, 2006 6:35 AM | Category: Lake

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