Birds.
More than 120 kinds of birds have been recorded. On the rim, the harsh-voiced Clark’s nutcracker is the most conspicuous. It is a little larger and more heavily built than a jay and has a long sharp bill. The bird’s overall color is light gray, the wings are black with a large white patch, and the tail is conspicuously white with black central tail feathers. Two jays are also numerous at times on the rim, the dark-blue Steller’s jay which has a long, blackish crest, and the uncrested gray jay (“camp robber”) which has a short bill, a dark patch on the back of the head, a white crown, and whitish underparts.
Eagle Crags have furnished nesting places for both the golden and American eagles which sometimes may be seen flying over the lake. Llao Rock is the home of falcons. Double-crested cormorants may perch on the “masts” of the Phantom Ship, and California gulls are seen regularly on the lake. The sooty grouse inhabits the fir forests from which its ventriloquial booming call issues in the spring. Several species of ducks and geese use the lake during migration, and the Barrow’s golden-eye and merganser nest there occasionally.
Other species most likely to be observed are the horned owl, red-tailed hawk, sparrow hawk, nighthawk, rufous hummingbird, olive-sided flycatcher, raven, mountain chickadee, red-breasted nuthatch, dipper (along streams and on the lake shore), robin, hermit thrush, russet-backed thrush, mountain bluebird, golden-crowned kinglet, Audubon warbler, western tanager, evening grosbeak, Cassin purple finch, rosy finch (vicinity of snow banks), pine siskin, Oregon junco, chipping sparrow, and fox sparrow.
Forests and Wildflowers
The virgin forests and wildflower meadows mantling the slopes, which one ascends to view Crater Lake, are outstanding attractions enhancing the scenic value of the lake. Scattered through the forests of predominantly cone-bearing trees are a few broad-leaved species. Colorful meadows of alpine wildflowers are found around numerous springs which form the sources of many creeks on the outer slope of the mountain.
Plants characteristic of four zones of vegetation are found within the park, yielding over 570 species of ferns and flowering plants. Patches of Douglas-firs, typical of the humid division of the upper Transition Zone, occur in the region of the park lying on the western slope of the Cascade Range. The semi-humid division of the zone, characterized by the ponderosa pines, largest trees in the park, may be found at the south entrance of the park. Associated with it are sugar pines, white firs, and western white pines. Above the Transition is the Canadian Zone in which occur lodgepole pines, Shasta red firs, alpine firs, and mountain hemlocks.
In the rim area around Crater Lake, Hudsonian Zone species are found. These include mountain hemlocks (the most predominant trees in the park), alpine firs, Shasta red firs, and whitebark pines. Stunted whitebark pines predominate on the slopes of Mount Scott, the summit being in the Alpine-Arctic Zone.
During July and August, you will find Nature’s colorful displays of alpine wildflowers on the road between park headquarters and Rim Village and along the trails on the crater rim. These displays change with each week of the short flowering season.
Phantom Ship. Applegate and Garfield Peaks are reflected in Crater Lake.
Castle Crest Wildflower Garden, near park headquarters, is one of the most attractive and ideal places for viewing and studying Crater Lake flora. Throughout the summer, you may study the exhibits of fresh flowers displayed at the Information Building in the Rim Village.
Interpretive Service
During the summer, daily interpretive service is scheduled by the National Park Service. Informal talks are given at Sinnott Memorial, and evening programs are held in the Community House, both in Rim Village. Field trips start from the Information Building on the rim just west of the lodge. Rim Drive bus trips begin at the lodge. Boat trips, when in operation, start at the foot of the Lake (Crater Wall) Trail.
Programs of current interpretive activities are posted at several places in the park.
The Sinnott Memorial, with its broad terrace overlooking the lake, serves as an orientation point. It is located close to the lodge and the Rim Campground. Pictorial displays in the exhibit room portray artists’ conceptions of the varying moods of the lake. Field glasses and a large relief map of the region are located on the terrace.