For one hour now, my face has been planted in each of the three large windscreens on my side of the aircraft as we fly north over the Sierras, past Lake Tahoe, Lassen Peak, Mount Shasta and Klamath Falls. Then out of nowhere amid the highest white-capped peaks in North America is a huge aqua-blue hole situated east of Oregon's old-growth forests and just on the fringe of the high desert to our right. There it is, Crater Lake!
I have only been down there once with my father, and what a massive lake it is. The lake itself was actually formed from the collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama, and has obviously filled up with snow melt and rain that have accumulated over the centuries. The lake also contains plenty of water too - it is the second deepest lake in North America, with an average depth of just over 1,100 feet.
Then, just as quickly as it is in front of us, it is behind us and fading quickly at seven miles per minute.
4 comments:
Nice shot. Reminds me of a flying holiday trip I undertook a few years ago from Europe.
Here is another shot from lower altitude through the en window of a rented C172;
http://www.bjornmoerman.com/Travel/Chasing-the-Volcanos-2009/9757189_QQ4Kpb#661046697_pVVSx
Bjorn
Nice one Bjorn! I like your photo blog too.
Ryan
Did you know that the lake level has fluctuated by only ~16 feet in the last 100 years?
I'm surprised you were able to get such an unobstructed view of Crater Lake this time of year. Normally it goes in to hiding from late October to March.
Honestly, there hasn't been a lot of rain up in the Pacific NW this season so far. Even Portland has seen some sunny days lately, which, like you said is rather odd. Let's hope for rain and snow for some good skiing!
Ryan
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