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Oregon’s Blue Jewel in a Volcano

OUR expectation heightened as we started to climb into the mountains in southwest Oregon on the western coast of the United States. We had been told that Crater Lake would be like nothing else we had ever seen. It was still wintertime, and the snow was piled up by the side of the highway, way above eye level. As a consequence, when we arrived at our destination, we still could not see the famous lake. But there was a gap that a bulldozer had cut through the wall of snow that gave us a view over the edge of the precipice. And what a view!

There, way below us, was Crater Lake, truly a deep-blue jewel set in the collapsed heart of a volcano. We were looking at a lake 1,932 feet deep that had been filled by rain and snow. The beautiful reflection in the mirror-still water made it hard to believe that the lake is some six miles wide. A 20-mile circle of snow-covered cliffs surrounded this jewel.

We were on the edge of a huge caldera formed by the collapsed cone of a volcanic mountain that was given the name Mount Mazama in 1896. Geologists theorize as to when it was formed and exactly how. We could only stand in amazement at such a unique sight and give thanks to the Creator for the senses that allow us to perceive and appreciate such beauty.​—Contributed.