Early History
Crater Lake lies inside a caldera created 7,700 years ago when the 12,000 feet (3,658 m) high Mount Mazama collapsed following a large volcanic eruption. Over the following millennium, the caldera was filled with rain water forming today's lake. The Klamath Indians revered Crater Lake for its deep blue waters. In 1853, three gold miners found the lake, and named it Deep Blue Lake. However, because the lake was so high in the Cascade Mountains the discovery was soon forgotten.
In 1886, Captain Clarence Dutton, commander of a United States Geological Survey party, carried a half-ton survey boat, the Cleetwood, up the steep mountain slope and lowered it 2,000 feet (610 m) into the lake. From the Cleetwood, Dutton used piano wire to measure the depth of the lake at 168 different points. The survey team determined the lake was 1,996 feet (608 m) deep. This is surprisingly close to the modern sonar based readings made in 1959 that established the lake's deepest point at 1,932 feet (589 m).
William Gladstone Steel accompanied Dutton to Crater Lake in 1886. He named many of the lake's landmarks including Wizard Island, Llao Rock, and Skell Head, and participated in lake surveys that provided scientific evidence of the lake's uniqueness. After his return, he began advocating that Crater Lake be established as a national park.
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