DESCRIPTION OF THE PARK
A. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION OF PARK
Crater Lake Natonal Park, consisting of 182,700 acres, lies in south central Oregon within the Cascade mountain range. The park boundaries are contiguous with the Winema, Umpqua, and Rogue River national forests and with Sun Mountain State Forest. The park lies within the Oregon counties of Klamath, Jackson, and Douglas. The lake occupies about one-eighth of the entire park area, lying in its center at an elevation of 6,176 feet.
B. PURPOSE OF PARK
The purpose of the park is stated in its establishing act signed into law by President Theodore Roosevelt on May 22, 1902. The park was to be an area “dedicated and set apart forever as a public park or pleasure ground for the benefit of the people of the United States.” The act required that measures be taken for “the preservation of the natural objects . . . the protection of the timber . . . the preservation of all kinds of game and fish” and the use of “scientists, excursionists, and pleasure seekers.” Crater Lake was the sixth national park to be established in the United States and became known as one of the “jewels of the National Park System.”
C. SIGNIFICANCE OF PARK
Crater Lake is unique among American lakes. The “crater” is a caldera which was formed more than 6,000 years ago when the top of the 12,000-foot volcano Mount Mazama collapsed. Roughly circular in shape, about six miles across at its widest point, and covering an area of some twenty square miles, the lake is surrounded by nearly twenty-six miles of colorful lava cliffs rising from 500 to 2,000 feet above the surface of the water. From this rimmed summit the land slopes downward in all directions. Over the centuries the caldera has collected water from rain and snow. Evaporation and seepage are now in near balance with precipitation, providing a fairly constant water level. The lake is an incomparable example of a deep, pure, and stable caldera lake.
Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States, the second deepest in the Western Hemisphere, and the seventh deepest in the world, dropping downward to 1,932 feet just southeast of Merriam Cone. The beauty and scenic grandeur of the lake and caldera constitute the prime feature and attraction of the park and one of the prime scenic fascinations in the United States. It has been designated a national hydrological landmark and is being studied by an increasing number of scientists under the park research program.
