Crater Lake was formed naturally after the volcano erupted ~6000 years
ago, emptying the magma. The left overs as you see formed the small mountain
inside the lake. There is no water inlet/outlet - a 6 mile wide "kadai" containing water:)
This place is ~60 miles from Portland which we visited with Anita.
This was the place of the last major vlcanic eruption [1980].
Another uniquness is that the debris shooted off sideways unlike
from the top and so killed some of the observers who thought they
were in a safe location.
Above is the view as it is today, all barren..
This is a postcard which depicts the before/after eruption. Note the
greenery, water [lake that got split and a river that was submerged]
and the height of the mountain.
This is a leftover of what was a tree. The visitor center is built around it.
If you look closely, you can see tree-barks [natural] vs the burnt side.
The reasoning is that the tree started burning and soon after got
submerged in ash, so oxygen got cut off, preserving it. Also note that
the top portion of the leftover tree, pointing in a direction away from
the volcano. Actually, you can see left over burnt trees even miles
from spot tilted away giving an idea of the forces involved.
