Crater Lake Scenes

It's always a treat to visit Crater Lake.  I like to hike the trail along the crater rim, stopping often to take in the scene, hopefully getting far enough away from the road and the tourons to enjoy the peace and mysticism of the scene.  For Crater Lake is a power spot.  It is a place to go and soak up the beauty, and to absorb the oddity of the lake's formation.  Most lakes are at the bottom of a basin; but Crater Lake is on a mountaintop, or rather the remnants of one, Mount Mazama, which collapsed seven thousand years ago after a massive eruption.  The resulting caldera filled with water over the ages, creating todays masterpiece.

The rock walls surrounding the lake are literally the guts of old Mt Mazama.  The rocks are jagged, multicolored; for millennia they were buried deep within the mountain.

The water of Crater Lake is famously blue. So blue as to be surreal.

Trees silhouetted against the waters of the lake.

Fireweed ekes out a growing spot on the edge of the caldera.

The Lizards love the lake.