Crater Lake with Wizard Island (as seen from Watchman tower)
Crater Lake National Park is known for its deep blue water, a shade of blue that I have never seen before. We had seen many colored pictures of the Crater Lake; but seeing it in reality with ones own eyes had a "wow factor" that the pictures could not prepare us for. It was the bluest of the blue lakes (even more so than lake Tahoe). Its deep water (1900feet at the deepest point) is fed by over 44 feet of snow fall every year. There are no inlets or outlets for water, ensuring that the water is pure and clear. The lake is about 5 miles across and is lined by over 1000 feet high cliffs, forming the rim of a caldera ( a hole left by a collapsing volcano). We took about an hour to drive the 33 mile road along the rim. On this warm summer day in September, there was still some snow left inside the rim and the high temperature was is mid sixties. The views from the Watchman tower and the rim village lookout were arguably some of best. The hike to Watchman tower ascends 490 feet with the 2 miles round trip taking us about an hour, with breaks to enjoy the views. The Pacific Rim Trail (spanning from Canada to Mexico) passes near the Watchman viewpoint.
Another highlight along the rim was a rock formation called "phantom ship", resembling a pirate ship, with its jagged edges appearing like sails of a ship in blue water.
Phantom Ship
Clark's Nutcracker
The Meriwether Lewis and William Clark Expedition (1804–1806), headed by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, was the first American overland expedition to the Pacific coast and back. Clark's nutcracker is named after the explorer William Clark, who first reported about the bird. Excerpts from their diary can be found here. At this web-site you can also hear the call of the bird. Indeed, it sounds similar to crow call as the bird belongs to "crow family".
Crows are known to be intelligent birds. This smart bird collects thousands of pine seeds and hides them in the ground during summer. During winter, when the ground is covered by snow, it finds most of the seeds hidden over few square miles area with remarkable accuracy, in a feat of memory that is difficult to believe.
The bird has symbiotic relationship with the white-bark pine tree found at Crater lake national park. The pine cones are such that the seeds cannot propagate easily. The bird gets the seeds out of the cone and spreads them around in the forest. These trees are dying from disease and there may be a problem for these birds in the future.
A few other cool facts from the Cornell Ornithology Lab:
- The Clark's Nutcracker has a special pouch under its tongue that it uses to carry seeds long distances. The nutcracker harvests seeds from pine trees and takes them away to hide them for later use.
- The Clark's Nutcracker hides thousands and thousands of seeds each year. Laboratory studies have shown that the bird has a tremendous memory and can remember where to find most of the seeds it hides.
- The Clark's Nutcracker feeds its nestlings pine seeds from its many winter stores (caches). Because it feeds the young on stored seeds, the nutcracker can breed as early as January or February, despite the harsh winter weather in its mountain home.
- The Clark's Nutcracker is one of very few members of the crow family where the male incubates the eggs. In jays and crows, taking care of the eggs is for the female only. But the male nutcracker actually develops a brood patch on its chest just like the female, and takes his turn keeping the eggs warm while the female goes off to get seeds out of her caches.
Clark's Nutcracker
More details (of geology and physics) , if you care ..
Geology: How and when was the lake and the crater formed?
Mount Mazama grew for almost half a million years. 7,700 years ago, it erupted violently, then collapsed into itself forming the crater. Since then, rain and snow have filled Crater Lake, and other eruptions have created features including Wizard Island. From Watchman tower one can see the cinder cone of Wizard Island. The cinder cone is about 70 feet deep. National Park Service Brochure on Geology can be found here.
Physics: Blue Color or Water Water has absorption of light in infra-red wavelengths due to vibration of atoms in the molecule. So, among visible light spectrum the red is the easiest to absorb and blue is the most difficult. In a deep and pure body of water, like Crater Lake or Lake Tahoe, the red is absorb first, then yellow and green before blue color can be absorbed by water molecules. The blue color is instead scattered back and this is the blue color that we witness. A schematic of this phenomenon is shown in the following display at the Crater Lake National Park near Rim Village.
Absorption Coefficient of water (100x less absorption of blue than red)
source: http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/images/watopt.gif
