Crater Lake Video Tour»
Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T! For National Park Week, in light of social distancing orders, many parks have made virtual tours available like the video tour of Crater Lake with Dierks Bentley and Ranger Charlie (see below.) This is a narrated 360 video, so you can click the control to see all around the viewpoints while watching.
Crater Lake National Park»
7,700 years ago, Mount Mazama (an ancient volcano) collapsed forming Crater Lake in its caldera. The pure blue lake is the deepest in the United States and is famous for its bright blue color. The Lake owes its intense blue color to its depth and clarity. Because the lake is so deep and clear, the longer rays of the light spectrum are absorbed while the shorter waves (the ‘BIV’ component of ‘ROYGBIV’) are reflected back as the color we see.
The awesomeness of this park is on par with that of the Grand Canyon, but not as vast. We only had a day here and managed to get in a hike to Garfield Peak, a ranger-guided trolley tour along the rim and other activities.
The Garfield Peak Trail is a 3.4 mile round-trip, popular trail with over 1000 feet in elevation. The highest point is over 8000 feet, so you are already starting at a high elevation of around 7000 feet at Rim Village. It is a steep hike to gorgeous views.
Crater Lake Posts:
Location: Crater Lake, OR
Designation: National Park
Date designated or established: 5/22/1902
Date of my visit: 8/25/2016