Report of the Superintendent of the Crater Lake National Park, 1910

 General Statement.

 

The Crater Lake National Park was created by act of Congress approved May 22, 1902. It is situated in Klamath County, Oreg., and has an area of 249 square miles, or 159,360 acres.

Crater Lake is near the summit of the Cascade Range, in the crater of an extinct volcano which is estimated to have been more than 16,000 feet high. The lake, which is practically in the center of the park, is approximately 6 miles long and 4 miles wide, and has a water surface of 20-1/4 square miles. The lake is 6,177 feet above sea level and the depth of the water is 2,001 feet. The almost vertical walls of the great caldera in which the lake is situated rise from 1,000 to 2,000 feet above the surface of the water.

Crater Lake was first discovered by John Hilman, the leader of a party of gold hunters, on June 12, 1853, and was next seen by white men October 1, 1862, by Chauncey Nye and his party of prospectors and miners. It was known by some of the officers and enlisted men of Fort Klamath, Oreg., as early as 1865, but did not come into much prominence until about 1885, since which time many thousands of visitors and admirers have been attracted to its shores by its beauty and grandeur.

Crater Lake is 498 miles north of San Francisco, Cal., and is reached by way of the Southern Pacific Railroad. 436 miles, to Klamath Falls, Oreg., thence by steamer across Klamath Lake to Agency Landing, thence by automobile or team via Fort Klamath. The lake is 62 miles from Klamath Falls and 22 miles from Fort Klamath.

The Crater Lake National Park is 416 miles south of Portland Oreg., and is reached by way of the Southern Pacific Railroad to Medford. 332 miles, or to Ashland, 344 miles; thence by automobile or team.

The lake is 84 miles from Medford and 96 miles from Ashland.

 

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