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Crater Lake National Park
Welcome to the site of the deepest lake in the United States and the 7th deepest lake on the planet, Oregon's magnificent Crater Lake National Park. Crater Lake is 1,943 feet deep at it's deepest point and contains some of the clearest known freshwater in the world.
Park History: Archeologists tell us that Native Americans occupied this land before the great eruption of Mount Mazama and have discovered many artifacts buried in volcanic ash to support their theory. Even though evidence tells us that the mountain was an important place for prayer, there is not a lot to support it being a permanent home for the natives.
In the mid-19th century some of the first white settlers arrived in the region and in 1863, the U.S. Army established Fort Klamath not far from what is the present day park. The first vision for the land becoming a National Park came from a boy in Kansas named William Gladstone Steele who read about the place in a newspaper used as wrapper for his lunch in 1870. Eventually Steele's family moved to Portland, Oregon but it was not until 1885 that Steele finally got to see the lake. Steele advocated for the creation of a National Park and even though his cause met resistance from local miners and ranchers, his wish was finally granted on May 22, 1902 when Crater Lake National Park was established.
Wildlife: This mountainous wilderness is home to many wild animals including deer mice, black bears, coyotes, mule deer, great horned owls, and many others. Please treat their home with respect.
For the lover of the outdoors Crater Lake National Park boasts hundreds of campsites, over 90 miles of hiking trails, scuba diving opportunities, and much more. Come on out and explore.
This was RecPlanet place of the day on November 18, 2016 and again on April 9, 2017 for a special person's birthday.