Crater Lake Geology

Leaping a few mountains to the east will land our legs into the waters of Crater Lake National Park, the deepest waters of the United States. Nearly 2,000 feet down would you dive to touch the floor, which, to make our story even more surprising, is the floor of a sleeping volcano who began, before Crater Lake, as Mount Mazama. The story of Mount Mazama's transition into Crater Lake can be told twofold: the geology of a volcano (the story told by science) and the lovestruck plunge of Coyote (the story told by the Klamath tribe). Both stories are true, and thankfully, more people are recognizing that we don't have to choose.

Kava's pages, below, show our path to understanding both stories, knowing that even these two stories to Mount Mazama/Crater Lake do not tell all there is to tell. Crater Lake can't make it into our field trip journeys this year, unfortunately, yet we encourage all families, if you can find the time for the three-hour drive, to visit our neighborly Cascade Mountain Range and dive yourself deep into the cold, clear, volcanic waters of our Crater Lake: