Major

Geomorphic Processes Associated

with the Creation of Crater Lake
Ethan T. Burt Geomorphology Spring 2016

Abstract: Crater Lake National Park is located in southern Oregon (see Fig. 1)
and consists of the remnants of an ancient volcano, Mount Mazama. This
volcano was part of the Cascade Range that stretches from southwestern
Canada into northern California, a region that attributes its volcanic activity
to the subduction zone of the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.
Mount Mazama collapsed on itself following a major eruption 7,700 years
ago, thus forming a massive caldera. This impressive crater has since filled
with crystal clear water, creating one of the deepest lakes in the world and a Fig. 1: Location of Crater
Lake National Park.
beautiful landscape visited by 500,000 visitors per year.
Source: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/LocMap_Crater_Lake_National_Park.png

Source: http://www.earthmagazine.org/

Fig. 2: Subduction Zone. The Cascade Range is a 1,300 mile

chain of volcanoes that extends from Northern California to
Southern Canada and includes many well known volcanoes
such as Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Hood. This
volcanic chain is attributed to the sinking of the Pacific plate
under the North American plate, a process known as
subduction. As the oceanic plate sinks below the continental
plate, water is released, melting the crust above. The molten
crust then upwells, creating volcanoes. Mt. Mazama began
forming through this process roughly 400,000 years ago.

Present Day Crater Lake:

Source: http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2002/fs092-02/images/rockwood.jpg

Fig. 3: Mount Mazama Eruption. Artistic rendering of

the major eruption of Mt. Mazama, believed to have
occurred roughly 7,700 years ago. Before this major
eruption, Mt. Mazama stood at approximately 12,000 ft.
Today, the highest point of the remaining structure is
Hillman Peak, measuring 8,159 ft.

Source: https://naturalhistory.si.edu

Fig. 4: Pyroclastic Fall and Flow Deposits. The

eruption at Mt. Mazama expelled roughly 25
mi3 of tephra along with approximately 13 mi3
of the mountaintop being lost, making it the
largest eruption to have occurred in the
cascades in the last million years.

Source: http://geology.com/articles/caldera

Fig. 5: Order of Events Involved in the Creation of the Crater

Lake Caldera. After the eruption of Mt. Mazama, the magma
chamber was partially empty, which caused the mountain to
collapse and form the caldera that exists today.

Notable Landforms Within Crater Lake:

Geology and Bathymetry:

Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Geologic_map

Source: https://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/pacmaps/images/cl-shd.gif

Fig. 9: Geologic Summary

of Crater Lake Caldera.
Source: http://mw2.google.com/mw-panoramio/photos/medium/68774383.jpg

Fig. 6: Aerial View of Crater Lake. With a maximum

depth of 1,949 ft., Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the
U.S. and 9th deepest in the world. The lake measures 5
miles wide by 6 miles long with a surface area of 20.6
mi2, and holds 4.49 mi3 of water.

Source: Ethan Burt

Fig. 7: Wizard Island. After the collapse of Mount

Mazama, steam and magma emerged from the floor of
the caldera, forming this small cinder cone volcano.
The volcano, now surrounded by water, rises 755 feet
above the surface of the lake.

Fig. 10: Bathymetric Overview of

Crater Lake Caldera.

Source: http://www.shannontech.com/ParkVision/CraterLake/cl-138.jpg

Fig. 8: The Phantom Ship. Due to its resemblance to a ship

sailing across the deep blue waters of the lake, this ancient
island has been deemed The Phantom Ship. The island is
composed of 400,000 year old Andesite from another ancient
volcano and stands 163 feet above the lakes surface.

References:
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Bacon, C. R., 1983, Eruptive History of Mount Mazama and Crater Lake Caldera, Cascade Range, USA: Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal
Research, v. 18, p. 57-115.
Diller, J. S., Patton, H.B., 1902, The Geology and Petrography of Crater Lake National Park: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Harmon, R., 2002, Crater Lake National Park: A History: Corvallis, Oregon State University Press.
National Park Service, 2016, Publications Crater Lake National Park: http://www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/publications.htm (accessed
February 2016).
USGS, 2016, Geology and History Summary for Mount Mazama and Crater Lake:
http://volcanoes.usgs.gov/volcanoes/crater_lake/crater_lake_geo_hist_133.html (accessed February 2016).