Crater Lake
The deepest lake in the United States
Crater Lake, high in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon, is the deepest lake in the United States, plunging about 1,949 feet (594 m) to its floor. It fills the collapsed caldera of an ancient volcano, Mount Mazama, which blew apart and fell in on itself roughly 7,700 years ago. With no rivers flowing in or out, the lake is fed only by rain and snow, making its water among the clearest and purest anywhere — and an almost unreal deep blue.
The caldera walls rise hundreds of feet straight from the water, and a small volcanic cone, Wizard Island, breaks the surface near one shore. Because the basin is sealed, the lake's level stays remarkably steady, balanced between heavy Cascade snowfall and slow evaporation and seepage. Protected as the heart of Crater Lake National Park, it is one of the most striking bodies of water on the continent.