Oregon's Crater Lake National Park, By the Numbers
415,686
Recreational visits to Crater National Park in 2008.
183,224
Total acreage of the park. That’s a little more than 286 square miles, including the 20.42 square miles accounted for by six mile-wide Crater Lake.
12,000
Estimated maximum elevation (feet above sea level) of Mounta Mazama, the stratovolcano that collapsed about 7,700 years ago to form the caldera that Crater Lake sits in. The highest elevation on the caldera rim (Hillman Peak) is now 8,151 feet, so roughly 4,000 feet of ancient Mount Mazama has gone missing.
8,929
Elevation (feet above sea level) of Mount Scott, the highest peak in the park. If you’d like to climb it, there’s a five-mile (roundtrip) trail that leads to the top
1,949
Maximum depth of the lake, in feet, as recorded by a multibeam survey in July 2000. Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh-deepest lake in the world.
533
Inches of snowfall in a typical winter. That’s over 44 feet, and it makes Crater Lake one of the snowiest places in the world where snowfall is carefully measured. Deep snow curtails access to most park attractions from October through May.
250
Approximate number of years it took for Crater Lake to fill to its present level after the caldera was formed. The lake has no inlets or outlets. Precipitation and snowmelt supply water to the lake, and evaporation and seepage keep it from getting any deeper. The lake level has varied just 16 feet (less than one percent) during the last century.
140
Miles of trails in the park.
144
Transparency of the lake water, in feet, as measured with a secchi disk (a black-and-white disk lowered into the water on a cable). In 1969, and again in 1997, a secchi disk lowered into the lake could still be seen at a depth of 144 feet below the surface. Light penetrates even further than that, making it possible for algae to grow as much as 725 feet below the surface. Crater Lake’s world-record clarity and striking blue color are attributable to its isolation from streams.
100
Miles of visibility from the highest vantage points in the park. Needless to say, air pollution is not the problem here that it is in many other parks.
38
Year round temperature (degrees Fahrenheit) of water more than 260 feet below the surface. Temperatures at the surface may be as high as 65 degrees at the summer peak.
33
Length of Rim Drive (miles). The more than 50 turnouts along this road offer views that are hard to beat for sheer scenic splendor.
5
Number of national parks created before Crater Lake National Park was established in 1902. People who insist that Crater Lake was the fifth national park don’t count Mackinac National Park (later Mackinac Island National Park), which was established in 1875 and abolished in 1895.
4
Cubic miles of water in the lake. Each year, about 34 billion gallons of water are added to the lake by precipitation/snowmelt and a like amount is subtracted by evaporation and seepage.
1
Number of people who have ever been to the bottom of Crater Lake and lived to tell about it. Several decades ago, oceanographer Mark Buktenica rode the submersible Deep Rover to the deepest part of the lake to make scientific observations. No one has been back since.
0
Number of native species of fish. However, there are several species of stocked fish, and fishermen can keep everything they catch.
???
Black bears are occasionally seen in the park, but pending the results of research currently underway, nobody knows how many there are.
Comments
Yes, Annie Creek is the water source today, but not in 1975, at least according to news sources linked to your website, The Crater Lake Institute:
"While properly functioning treatment of Munson Springs water appears adequate for removal of bacteria and parasite contamination, it does not assure protection from disease-causing viruses."
http://www.craterlakeinstitute.com/crater-lake-news/paper-charges.htm
So add "at the time" to the end of this statement, this comment makes sense in historical context.
But these things always get swept under the rug and don't end up in cutesy little by-the-numbers articles. That would be too negative for NPT's new corporate sponsors.
Thanks Bob for alerting me to this fine article. Here are some modifications to the facts you have quoted above: (1) The filling of Crater Lake is estimated to have taken many centuries, perhaps more than 1000 years, due to fluctuations in climate and precipitation and the presence of subsurface seepage. The often cited estimate of 250 years is based on a simple calculation that assumes no subsurface seepage until the lake reached the present level and no change in precipitation over time. (2) Crater Lake is often cited as the 7th deepest lake in the world. However, in recent times, two lakes have been added to the list of the worlds deepest lakes, Lake O'HIggins-St. Martin of Chile and Argentina (2742 feet), and Lake Vostok of Antarctica (>2950 feet). Thus, Crater Lake, with a maximum depth of 1949 feet, now ranks as the 9th deepest lake in the world.
But, don't fret, based on a comparison of the average depth of the lakes of the world, Crater Lake with an average depth of 1,148 feet ranks 3rd. Furthermore, when comparing average depths among lakes whose basins are entirely above sea level, Crater Lake is the deepest in the world!
By the way, an excellent, abiet "fictional," account of the days of the 1975 water crises at Crater Lake is described in the book, "Why is Crater Lake so Blue?" by Michael Lalumiere. Unfortunately, there are only a few copies of this book available online, as it has recently sold out.
Owen,
The Crater Lake Institute still has copies
Why Is Crater Lake So Blue ? (depression blue ! not Lake Transparency))
from the first printing:
Price approx: $18 incl. shipping
PO Box 2, Crater Lake, OR. 97604