HOME | DD

Description

A picture from one of our more recent destinations: Crater Lake National Park.

Crater Lake is a volcanic lake which formed only 7700 years ago after the collapse of a giant volcano, Mount Mazama, during a big eruption. It's 594 m deep which makes it the deepest lake in the USA and the deepest volcanic lake in the world. It also features some of the clearest water in the world. Measured with a Secchi disc the record visible depth was recorded to be 43,9 m. In conjunction, the depth and the clear water give the lake its intense blue colour.

I'm actually a little on the fence with this one. One one hand, it's one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. At least it's the bluest one - the colours in this picture are true to reality. However, this park doesn't seem to receive much money. The whole east rim drive (2/3 of the road around the lake) was closed due to snow. Apparently there isn't enough money to plow a few kilometers of road in June... Same was true for the trails. All the trails were closed with signs saying that hiking is prohibited... Like, what are they thinking? We attempted Garfield Peak Trail, which was mostly snow-free, but had to turn around half-way on a steep, snow-covered section. The ground beneath the snow was loose and the risk was too high to slide down the mountain. However, a single guy with a shovel could have freed that section within less than an hour... I think at least a handful of trails should be cleared by June and I don't think it would be too much work... However, the visitor center told us that some trails open as late as August. I guess this park is for driving around in a car for a day for most of the year. At least we got some beautiful sights and a gorgeous sunset.

Location: Watchman Overlook, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, USA

Description

A picture from one of our more recent destinations: Crater Lake National Park.

Crater Lake is a volcanic lake which formed only 7700 years ago after the collapse of a giant volcano, Mount Mazama, during a big eruption. It's 594 m deep which makes it the deepest lake in the USA and the deepest volcanic lake in the world. It also features some of the clearest water in the world. Measured with a Secchi disc the record visible depth was recorded to be 43,9 m. In conjunction, the depth and the clear water give the lake its intense blue colour.

I'm actually a little on the fence with this one. One one hand, it's one of the most beautiful lakes I have ever seen. At least it's the bluest one - the colours in this picture are true to reality. However, this park doesn't seem to receive much money. The whole east rim drive (2/3 of the road around the lake) was closed due to snow. Apparently there isn't enough money to plow a few kilometers of road in June... Same was true for the trails. All the trails were closed with signs saying that hiking is prohibited... Like, what are they thinking? We attempted Garfield Peak Trail, which was mostly snow-free, but had to turn around half-way on a steep, snow-covered section. The ground beneath the snow was loose and the risk was too high to slide down the mountain. However, a single guy with a shovel could have freed that section within less than an hour... I think at least a handful of trails should be cleared by June and I don't think it would be too much work... However, the visitor center told us that some trails open as late as August. I guess this park is for driving around in a car for a day for most of the year. At least we got some beautiful sights and a gorgeous sunset.

Location: Watchman Overlook, Crater Lake National Park, Oregon, USA