CRATEE LAKE, OREGON.^ 



By J. S. DiLLER, 



United States Geological Survey. 



Of lakes in the United States there are many and in great variety, 

 but of crater lakes there is bnt one of great Importance. Crater lakes 

 are lakes which occupy the craters of volcanoes or pits (calderas) of 

 volcanic origin. They are most abundant in Italy and Central Amer- 

 ica, regions in which volcanoes are still active; and they occur also in 

 France, Germany, India, Hawaii, and other parts of the world where 

 volcanism has played an important role in its geologic history. 



The one in the United States belongs to the great volcanic field of 

 the northwest, but it occurs in so secluded a sjjot among high moun- 

 tains that it is almost unknown to tourists and men of science who are 

 especially interested in such natural wonders. Crater Lake of south- 

 ern Oregon lies in the very heart of the Cascade Range, and, while it is 

 especially attractive to the geologist on account of its remarkable geo- 

 logic history, it is equally inviting to the tourist and others in search 

 of health and pleasure by communion with the beautiful and sublime 

 in nature. 



According to W. G. Steel ^ the lake was first seen by white men in 

 1853. It had long previously been known to the Indians, whose 

 legends have contributed a name, Llao Rock, to one of the prominences 

 of its rim. They regarded the lake with awe as an abode of the Great 

 Spirit. Prospectors were the earliest explorers of the lake.^ The first 

 travelers of note who visited the lake were Lord Maxwell and Mr. 

 Bentlej^, who, in 1871}, with Capt. O. C. Applegate, of Modoc war fame, 

 and three others, made a boat trip along its borders and named several 

 of the prominences on the rim after members of the party.* Mrs. F. F. 



' Published by permission of the Director of the United States Geological Survey. 

 Reprinted from the National Geographic Magazine, February, 1897, Vol. VIII, pages 

 33-48. 



2 The Mountains of Oregon, by W. G, Steel, 1890, page 13. 



'The Discovery and Early History of Crater Lake, by M. W. Gorman, Mazama, 

 Vol. I, No. 2, Crater Lake Number, 1897, pages 159. This number contains much val- 

 uable information concerning Crater Lake iu addition to that referred to. 



■"The names Watchman, Glacier, Llao, and Vidae, which appear on the map of 

 the lake, have recently been adopted by the United States Board on Geographic 

 Names. 



SM 97 24 369 



