February 26, 1836.1 



SCIENCE. 



179 



of the country, and the placing its control in the 

 hands of those who have made astronomy their 

 life-work. The navy will be provided, if the rec- 

 ommendations are carried out, with an observatory 

 well suited to its special needs, and would be 

 relieved from the task of supervising work in 

 which it has no interest aside from that felt in 

 scientific work in general. 



CRATER LAKE, OREGON, A PROPOSED 

 NATIONAL RESERVATION. 



In the heart of the Cascade Range there is a 

 little sheet of water which is destined to take 

 high rank among the wonders of the world. It is 

 a unique phenomenon, taken as a whole, though 

 some of its component features, taken singly, may 

 not be unexampled. The lake is about seven and 

 one-half miles long and five miles wide. Its shape 

 is very nearly elliptical, without bays or promon- 

 tories. It is girt about by a complete circuit of 

 cliffs, now r here affording an outlet. These cliffs 

 rise to altitudes varying from 900 to 2,200 feet 

 above the water, and, though generally too steep 

 to be either ascended or descended, have in some 

 places an inclination low enough to render such a 

 feat possible, though difficult. They plunge at 

 once into deep water, and never afford a wide 

 margin for standing or walking room at the wa- 

 ter's edge. In a few places, however, the rains 

 have scoured gulleys in the wall ; and, where 

 these debouch upon the lake surface, may be 

 found narrow 7 spaces for lodgement. No consid- 

 erable stream or brook has been discovered flow- 

 ing into the lake as yet ; but a few springs yield 

 little rills of water in the faces of the walls. 

 Others and larger ones may come to light when 

 the lake is more minutely explored. Neither is 

 there any visible outlet. It is certain, however, 

 that there must be a mode of escape for the 

 water ; and, as it is not above ground, it must 

 needs be below ground, for the evaporation here 

 is less than the precipitation. 



Near the south-western margin, about half a 

 mile from the shore, there rises out of the water 

 a cinder-cone. Its height is between 600 and 700 

 feet. It is quite perfect and typical in form, 

 having the usual cup or hopper in its summit, and 

 as yet it is not perceptibly eroded. It is well cov- 

 ered with timber, and, notwithstanding its per- 

 fect preservation, it cannot be regarded as being, 

 in the historic sense, a recent creation. From 

 its base two streams of lava stretch out towards 

 the great wall, but do not reach it. The insula- 

 tion of the cone and its lavas is still complete. 



The baauty and majesty of the scene are inde- 

 scribable. As the visitor reaches the brink of the 



cliff, he suddenly sees below him an expanse of 

 ultramarine blue of a richness and intensity 

 which he has probably never seen before, and 

 will not be likely to see again. Lake Tahoe may 

 rival this color, but cannot surpass it. It is 

 deeper and richer than the blue of the sky above 

 on the clearest day. Just at the margin of the 

 lake it shades into a turquoise, which is, if possi- 

 ble, more beautiful still. Ordinarily the water 

 surface is mirror-like, and reflects an inverted 

 image of the surrounding cliffs in detail. Very 

 majestic, too, are the great environing walls. On 

 the west side they reach their greatest altitude, 

 rising almost vertically more than 2,000 feet 

 above the water. It is difficult to compare this 

 scene with any other in the world, for there is 

 none that sufficiently resembles it ; but, in a gen- 

 eral way, it may be said that it is of the same 

 order of impressiveness and beauty as the Yosem- 

 ite valley. It was touching to see the worthy 

 but untutored people, who had ridden a hun- 

 dred miles in freight-wagons to behold it, vainly 

 striving to keep back tears as they poured forth 

 their exclamations of wonder and joy akin to 

 pain. Nor was it less so to see so cultivated and 

 learned a man as my companion hardly able to 

 command himself to speak with his customary 

 calmness. 



To the geologist this remarkable feature is not 

 less impressive than it is to the lover of the beau- 

 tiful ; for, almost at the first glance, it reveals 

 something which would probably escape the eye 

 of the mere tourist. This broad depression was 

 once filled and occupied by a large volcanic cone, 

 rising far above the loftiest point of its encircling- 

 walls. 



The proof is simple and conclusive. Whoever 

 has studied a large volcanic cone, composed of 

 lavas piled sheet upon sheet around a central ori- 

 fice, and which has been subject to long-con- 

 tinued erosion, will be able to recall some general 

 facts as to the ravines and water-courses which 

 have been scoured in its flanks. As we approach 

 such a mountain, we observe the ravines opening 

 upon the plain, or gentle slope, around its base, 

 with huge buttresses between them, sometimes 

 rounded and broad, sometimes narrow and knife- 

 edged, according as the spaces between ravines 

 are great or small. As w T e ascend the bed of 

 any one of them, we observe that it grows 

 deeper and deeper, w T hile the intervening but- 

 tresses rise higher and higher, until a maxi- 

 mum depth is reached. Farther up, the de- 

 clivit of the bed becomes greater, lateral streams 

 come in, the ravine branches repeatedly, and up 

 near the summit it resolves itself into a plexus of 

 small rills, all embraced in an amphitheatre, 



