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The History of Crater Lake

The Klamath Tribes have occupied the Klamath Basin in Southern Oregon for over 13,000 years. Crater Lake plays a significant role both in tribal history and legend. As Taylor David of Klamath Tribes Public Information explains:

No matter who looks upon Crater Lake, known by the Klamath Tribes as “giiwas — a sacred place,” one must always remember the beauty and sacredness of such a place.

According to tribal history, this place was accidentally discovered by non-Indians in 1852. Many things were changing for the maqlaqs (natives) at this time, and in 1864 the Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin band of Snake Indians) signed the Treaty of 1864 with the United States Government which included giiwas (Crater Lake) within the Treaty boundaries.

However, documented history proves the Klamath Tribes’ Treaty Rights were ignored repeatedly, and on May 22, 1902, giiwas (Crater Lake) — a most sacred place — became Crater Lake National Park.

The Creation of Crater Lake

The Modoc and Klamath Tribes have passed down several versions of the legend describing the creation of Crater Lake. Tribal Elder Barbara Alatorre recalls this one.

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How Giiwas (Crater Lake) Came To Be

By Barbara Alatorre, Klamath Tribal Member and Historian

Also online at http://www.klamathtribes.org/crater_lake.htm

The story of Crater Lake’s origin has been handed down through thousands of generations by ancient Indian legends of the Modoc and Klamath Tribes. [1]

Before time began, giant Spirit Beings came down to earth through a hole in the sky, pushing ice down to build giant mountains. The first mountain built was Moy Yaina (Big Mountain — where Mt. Mazama now stands).The Spirit Beings created the rest of the Klamath terrain by digging tunnel-like caverns beneath the earth, pushing up the hills and mountains forming the Cascade Range. They dug the channels for rivers: created the marshes, and hundreds of springs bubbled up from underground. Giant trees, meadows and plants sprung up everywhere.

Upon completion all of the Spirits returned to the after-world (called Nolis-Gaeni), where others may not go until after death. Only the Spirit Chief, gmok’am’c (the Creator), remained behind to create the people (maqlaqs). Gmok’am’c (Creator) made his home inside Mt. Shasta (Mlaiksi) at the southern end of the maqlaqs ‘ country. From his spirit bag, gmok’am’c selected two bones as he soared over to what is now Klamath Lake where he laid the bones over one another — (giving birth to the Klamaths). Two bones were crossed near Modockni Lake known today as Tule Lake (home of the Modocs). Finally near Goose Lake, bones were laid together (to become progenitors of the Yahooskin and Wal-pah-pe people).

Upon arising the next day, gmok’am’c looked around and saw the smoke rising where he had created the tribes of the people. Feeling content, he proclaimed: “May you live well on the lands created for you, my people.” [2] He then watched over his people from his home and attended to matters of great importance — protecting the people and sacred mountains which surrounded the Klamath Basin.

From time to time, Monadalkni the Spirit Chief of the below-world would become curious and sneak up to watch the maqlaqs living in their beautiful domain. One day he observed a maiden of exceptional beauty. Many brave warriors sought her hand in marriage, but Loha was the daughter of the Klamath Chief and refused to marry anyone. The underworld chief Monadalkni dispatched his most trusted emissary Skooks with the most luxurious gifts to be found in those ancient days to propose marriage on his behalf.

During the night of the Klamaths’ coming-out ceremony Skooks suddenly appeared, interrupting a ceremonial dance. Hooded in a dark wolf skin, he stepped before Loha and her family bearing his astonishing gifts. “My Chief sends these offerings for your hand in marriage,” he said. “Eternal life will be yours as you and he become one and live in the big mountain Moy-Yaina.” As Skooks’ crimson red eyes gazed at her, Loha’s other suitors disappeared in a huge flash of orange light.

Loha backed away in fear and said, “No! I don’t want to live in a mountain.” Skooks and his entourage disappeared as fast as they had come. The Klamath Chief called the elders and Medicine Men to council in his tule lodge and they decided to send Loha into the forest to hide. Monadalkni, upon learning the outcome of his marriage proposal, ordered Skooks back to the village Chief to demand the whereabouts of the maiden, threatening revenge upon the people and destruction of their land if she was not brought to him. Fear stricken but loyal, no one in the village would speak. Hearing of their silence, Monadalkni shook like thunder and stormed off in a violent rage, running back and forth in the passageways beneath Moy-Yaina, throwing lightning bolts as he went, causing Moy-Yaina to explode with such great force the top of the mountain blew off. [3] Giant fireballs shot out toward the land of the maqlaqs, exploding deafening booms five times in rapid succession. Spewing fire from his mouth, the evil Chief ran to the top of the caldera to survey the destruction as fire and lava devoured the beautiful forests and lay waste to the villages of the people. Fleeing in terror for their lives, the people took refuge in Klamath Lake, crying and praying for the Good Spirit Chief gmok’am’c to save them. As lava rained down on the people like hot pitch, gmok’am’c, standing on Mt. Shasta, heard two of the eldest Medicine Men of the tribe volunteer to sacrifice themselves, believing only a sacrifice would stop the Chief of the below-world’s vengeance. “We elders with not many moons to live should be the ones to follow our torches into the great fire to calm the wrath upon our people.”

As the people watched, the two oldest and most respected Medicine Men waded out of Klamath Lake’s waters, lit their torches and began their courageous trek toward Yanalti, the high ridges surrounding the crater of the volcano. When gmok’am’c saw the elders’ unselfish and brave deed, he flew over them to face Monadalkni in battle and save his people. The two Spirit Chiefs fought, enraged, silhouetted against the red glow rumbling along the Cascades. The mountains shook and the earth trembled until finally, the good Chief forced Monadalkni back underground and collapsed volcanic debris down on the entrance to the underworld, creating a giant crater where the mountain top used to be. No longer Moy-Yaina (Big Mountain), the Indians renamed the mountain Tum-sum-ne (mountain with top cut off).

Medicine Men sang their sacred songs in thanks for the victory as the rains came filling the empty crater with water, and the lake became known as giiwas (a most sacred place), a holy place to the Indians who kept the area secret from outsiders for over 7,000 years.

Then in 1852, white men accidentally discovered giiwas snuggled in the caldera of Tum-se-ne. Many things were changing for the maqlaqs at this time and in 1864 the Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc & Yahooskin) signed the Treaty of 1864 which included giiwas within the Treaty boundaries. However, documented history proves the Klamath Tribes’ Treaty Rights to be ignored repeatedly, and on May 22, 1902, giiwas (a most sacred place) became Crater Lake National Park.

©2002. Barbara Alatorre, All Rights Reserved.

Barbara Alatorre, researcher and historian of the tribes of Southern Oregon, is herself a member of the Klamath Tribe and a direct descendant of two signers of the Treaty of 1864. Ms. Alatorre was honored recently as a Star of Oregon for years of outstanding community service, having served as president of the Portland American Indian Center, board member of the Urban Indian Council as well as the Commission on Indian Services, and chairwoman of the Urban Ma’klaks, among many other activities.

[1] Carbon-dated evidence shows Tribes have occupied the Klamath Basin in Southern Oregon for 13,200 years. See: Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Vol. 46, Part 4, 1956: Klamath Pre-History, L.S. Cressman, University of Oregon.

[2] A Legend of the After-world (Nolis-Gaeni), narrated in the Klamath language in 1962 by Lulu Lang to author Theodore Stern, in his book The Klamath Tribe, University of Washington Press, 1965, p. 2.

[3] Reportedly 7,700 years ago

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One of my favorites is Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, a place that owes its birth to violent volcanic explosions that not only shaped the land in the park but also had an influence on the ground in many places hundreds of miles away.

The story of how the ultramarine waters of Crater Lake came into existence begins long ago. I’ll tell you the tale to help inspire you to either visit a national park near you or to learn about the geology in your own neck of the woods at some point this summer.

Your soul will be better for spending some time outdoors, looking at the world on a scale that makes our human concerns — such as the election season — fall into an appropriate place.

About 400,000 years ago in what is now Oregon, an ancient volcano that geologists call Mount Scott was active. A series of eruptions just east of what’s now Crater Lake built up Mount Scott.

But as time passed, the eruptions ceased and the volcano became extinct. Next, new volcanoes just to the west started to grow. One of them was a massive volcanic edifice geologists call Mount Mazama.

Some 30,000 years ago, explosive eruptions characterized Mount Mazama’s activities. Thick, silica-rich lava oozed upward from deep within the Earth and sometimes exploded to create rocks such as pumice. You may remember from some childhood experiments that pumice is the rock with so many holes in it — made by volcanic gases — it will float on water.

The long history of Mount Mazama was violent. But what had been happening earlier paled in comparison to the Big One.

About 7,700 years ago, a massive and violent eruption began at Mount Mazama. Rock material was blasted into the air. Everything from sand-sized to gravel-sized pumice and finer grained volcanic ash was launched upward. Geologists estimate the volcanic debris reached about 30 miles into the sky.

So much material was erupted from Mount Mazama that the volcano collapsed in on itself. In doing so, it created a caldera, or a basin, at what had been the central portion of the mountain. Over time, rainwater and snowmelt accumulated in the basin, and Crater Lake was born. The lake grew in depth as more and more water accumulated.

As far as we know, Crater Lake has never overflowed the caldera in which it rests. There’s a layer of volcanic rock in the northeast caldera wall that’s porous — which means it allows water to flow through — and that prevents the lake water from climbing in elevation indefinitely.

In 1886 a scientist named Clarence Dutton who was part of the U.S. Geological Survey worked at Crater Lake.

He determined the depth of the lake using a lead weight and piano wire. His work indicated the waters were almost 2,000 feet deep.

Modern echo soundings largely agree with the early work, putting the depth of the lake at 1,932 feet.

The catastrophic eruption of Mount Mazama didn’t only shape the immediate environs of Crater Lake.

Where I live, hundreds of miles to the northeast of the former mountain, it’s easy to find a thick bed of Mazama’s volcanic ash under the modern soil. In other words, the eruption of Mount Mazama was significant for the whole region.

There were doubtless human witnesses to the catastrophic eruption of the mountain.

It’s sobering to think how people both near and downwind of the volcano must have suffered and died.

Compared with what Mother Nature dished out when Mount Mazama exploded, we are living in an easy era. Let’s find some comfort in that even as the economy drags through a slow recovery and we brace ourselves for a bruising presidential election cycle.

7360. Kirsten Peters, a native of the rural Northwest, was trained as a geologist at Princeton and Harvard. Planet Rock Doc, a collection of Peters’ columns, is available at bookstores or from the publisher at wsupress.wsu.edu or 800-354-7360. This column is a service of the College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences at Washington State University.

© 2012 San Angelo Standard Times. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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