Night Sky of Crater Lake National Park

Visitors to Crater Lake National Park who marvel at the unique and beautiful blue waters of Crater Lake in the day time should also realize they are seeing through and breathing some of the cleanest air in the world. This makes for spectacular night sky observations.

The full moon rises over Mt. Scott and the east rim of Crater Lake, Crater Lake National Park, photo by Robert Mutch

Many have visions of the Pacific Northwest's rainy climate, however, Crater Lake is at the crest of the Cascade Mountains where the air is so pure that on the clearest day you can see at least 190 miles, and occasionally to the 240 mile limit. Day visibility at Crater Lake averages about 105 miles.

Crater Lake is often the standard for judging air quality in other areas. By contrast, Mount Hood's visibility is 21 percent of the time, while Mount Washington's figure is 42 percent and Portland's is 85 percent...read more...

Nature Notes From Crater Lake