Crater Lake National Park, Oregon (1938)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR · Harold L. Ickes, Secretary NATIONAL PARK SERVICE · Arno B. Cammerer, Director UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE · 1938
SINNOTT MEMORIAL OBSERVATION STATION
Located in southern Oregon, on the crest of the lofty Cascade Range, Crater Lake National Park has a high place among the Nation’s most scenic wonderlands. It is a gem of rare excellence, possessing unity of form and color. At Crater Lake visitors observe beauty in its truest sense and experience a profound inspirational appeal. Pervaded by an air of mystery, tranquillity now prevails where once unfathomable volcanic power was displayed.
The lake rests in the very heart of a mighty mountain whose destruction resulted in the formation of a vast crater in which the waters accumulated. It is 6 miles wide, 2,000 feet deep, covers an area of 20 square miles, and has a circular shore line of 26 miles, with multicolored lava cliffs rising 500 to 2,000 feet above the lake.
Mountain trails lead to the summits of high points about the rim and down a thousand feet to the shores of a sea of silence. At the water’s edge motorboats and rowboats are available for those who wish to see more of the lake or try their hand at trout fishing. Daily boat trips are scheduled around the lake shore line and to Wizard Island, a perfect little crater jutting out of blue depths to a height of 763 feet. A motor drive extends around the crater edge for a distance of 35 miles, presenting scores of enthralling views of the scenic wonder. The constantly changing color and the contrast of lava cliffs and blue water are beautiful beyond description.
Crater Lake National Park embraces an area of 250.52 square miles and was established by act of Congress on May 22, 1902.
Legend says that the Klamath Indians believed Crater Lake was once a weird, ghostly amphitheater where the gods were forever embroiled in conflict, sporting in its blue waters and dwelling on its rocky heights and in its mystic depths.