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Know your Facts About Crater Lake
maximum depth (July 2000)
1,949 ft
maximum depth (Year 1959)
1,932 ft
minimum depth (near Phantom Ship)
15-25 ft
average depth
1,148 ft
max diameter of caldera at the rim
6.02 mi (east-west)
min diameter of caldera at the rim
4.54 mi (north-south)
surface area
20.42 mi2, 13,069 acres
highest peak in the park (Mount Scott)
8,929 ft
highest peak on the rim (Hillman Peak)
8,151 ft
average height of the caldera rim
7,178 ft above sea level
(1,000 ft above lake surface)record clarity depth (August 1994)
134 ft
average clarity depth
90-100 ft
High Point on Rim: Hillman Peak
8,151 ft
Surface Elevation: Approximately
6000 ft
Distance around the lake
33 miles
Height before collapse: estimated
11,000 to 12,000 ft
Surface Temp:
23 - 65 F
Last Total Freeze:
1949
Low Point on Rim: Palisade Point
6700
Park Established
May 22, 1902
Park Size: 286 sq miles
183,000 acres.
Average Annual Snow Fall Average Snow: 533" Average Annual rain Fall 69" Volume of water 5 trillion gallons Wizard Island 746 ft Total visitors: 521,465 1998 Plant species 700 Maximum Snowpack in 1983 (on ground) 252" For more facts about Crater Lake go to: http://www.nps.gov/crla/brochures/facts.htm
Crater Lake is filled with rain and melted snow that fell within the caldera basin. Crater Lake is isolated from surrounding streams and rivers, thus there is no inlet or outlet to the lake. Its primary input is from annual precipitation in the region. Average annual precipitation is 168 cm (66 in); average annual snowfall is 13 m (44 ft). It took approximately 250 years for the lake to fill to today's level (~1,883 m or ~6,178 ft above sea level). The lake maintains its current level because the amount of rain and snowfall equals the evaporation and seepage rate. Lake level has varied only over a range of 5 m (16 ft) in the past 100 years.
Crater Lake is known to be the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh deepest in the world. A maximum lake depth of 608 m (1,996 ft) was recorded by a group of USGS representatives in 1886 using piano wire and lead weight. The maximum depth of 589 m (1,932 ft) was established in 1959 by the USGS using sonar measurement. This depth is referenced at the surface elevation of 1,882 m (6,176 ft). But since its primary input source is dependent upon the climate, lake level is subject to abrupt changes. Crater Lake partially fills the collapsed caldera of the ancient Mount Mazama Volcano. The caldera is a bowl-shape depression of about 1,219 m (4,000 ft) deep.
The maximum depth of Crater Lake recorded at the time of the July 2000 multi-beam survey was 594 m ( 1,949 ft). The lake level had an elevation of 1,883 m (6,178 ft) above sea level at the time of the survey. The lake level of Crater Lake fluctuates according to the climate.
The record clarity of Crater Lake was measured at a depth of 41 m (134 ft) in August 1994. The lake clarity is measured with a secchi disk, a black and white disk lowered into the water with a cable. Its exceptional clarity is mainly due to its isolation from streams and rivers. There is no incoming stream to bring any organic materials, sediments, or chemicals to pollute the lake, although natural plankton in the lake and wind-borne pollen have seasonal effects on water clarity. Particulate materials and chemicals are mainly introduced into the lake through precipitation and run-off of the caldera walls. The caldera wall is composed of volcanic rocks that do not react with or dissolve easily in cold water, although warm water escaping from the caldera floor adds a small amount of dissolved solids.
