May 27 - 2018 Prospect, Oregon

The main reason for coming to this area was to see Crater Lake. That’s what we did today (Sunday the 27th).

As the name indicates it has to do with a volcano. About 7-8000 years ago Mount Mazama erupted.
The eruption was so strong that the top of the mountain collapsed into the empty lava dome, creating a big hole instead of a mountain top. A 2150-foot (650 m) hole that over the next 700 years filled with water. That created the deepest lake in the US (almost 2000 feet / 600 meter). The only source of water to the lake was, and is, rain and melting snow.
The area gets an average of 500 inches (ca. 13 meter) of snow each year.

WOW!!!!

There is no river or spring running into the lake and nothing running out either.
Because of that, the water is VERY clear and that combined with the depth (dybden) of the lake makes the water blue.
VERY BLUE. As blue as you have ever seen water.

OOO...

UUU...

III...

Because of all the snow, many of the roads around the lake are closed during the winter and most of the spring. We were lucky that they opened 6 miles (ca 10 km) on the western side on Friday. The northern and the eastern sides are still closed because of snow.

One of the only non-blue pictures!

We went there early and once again we managed to beat the crowds. There were long lines waiting to get in by the time we left.

We took hundreds of pictures. As the morning went, the water seemed to be more and more blue and scenery got prettier by the minute, so it was hard not to keep shooting. And it was hard to choose which ones to use on the blog.

Blue!

Bluer!!!

Bluest!!!

No - this is bluest!!!!

And just when you think it can't get any more blue!!!!!!!!!!!!

Written by JJ
Captions (billedtekster) by Mary 😊