
Q. Where is Crater Lake located?
A. Crater Lake National Park is located in Southern Oregon.
Q. What caused the crater formation of Crater Lake?
A.This area is a volcanic caldera – a hole made by the collapse of a volcano.
Q. Can we go swimming in Crater Lake?
A. There is only one place where it is safe and legal to get down to the lake edge. It is the Cleetwood Cove Trail, which usually opens mid to late June. Visitors are welcome to swim in the lake from the shoreline at the end of this trail.
Q. Is fishing allowed at Crater Lake?
A. Fish are not native to the lake. They were introduced in the lake from 1888-1941. Six species were originally stocked, but only two have survived to today: Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon. Because they are not native to the lake, fishing is not only allowed, it’s encouraged. No license is required and there is no limit on how many you may catch – the only rule is that you must use artificial bait. We don’t want to accidentally introduce any other species into the lake. Fishing is allowed along the shoreline and on Wizard Island (with the purchase of a boat tour and Wizard Island ticket.)
Q. What is a crater lake?
A. A crater lake is a lake that forms in a volcanic crater, caldera, or maar. Incoming precipitation fills the depression to form a deepening lake, until an equilibrium is reached between the rate of water coming in and the rate of water loss due to evaporation, subsurface drainage, and possibly also surface outflow if the lake fills the crater up to the lowest point on its rim. Crater lakes covering active (fumarolic) volcanic vents are often known as volcanic lakes, and the water within them is typically acidic, saturated with volcanic gases, and cloudy with a strong greenish color. Lakes located in dormant or extinct volcanoes tend to have fresh water, and the water clarity in such lakes is often exceptional due to the lack of inflowing streams and sediment.
A well-known crater lake, which bears the same name as the geological feature, is Crater Lake in Oregon, USA. It is located in the caldera of Mount Mazama, hence the name "Crater Lake" is somewhat of a misnomer. It is the deepest lake in the United States with a depth of 594 m (1,949 ft).
Q. What kind of animals do you have at the park?
A. Most common: Roosevelt Elk, Mule Deer, Black Bear, Coyote, Bobcat, Porcupine, Yellow-bellied Marmot, Pine Marten, Snowshoe Hare, Pika, Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel, and Townsend Chipmunk.