The lake
was formed after the collapse of an ancient volcano, posthumously named
Mount Mazama. This volcano erupted violently approximately 7,700 years ago
and was 42 times as powerful as the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The
caldera was formed after the top 5,000 feet of the volcano collapsed. Subsequent
lava flows sealed the bottom, allowing the caldera to fill with approximately
4.6 trillion gallons of water from rainfall and snow melt, to create the
seventh deepest lake in the world at 1,932 feet. It's deep blue color is
the result of it's depth, clarity and purity of it's water. The blue color
comes from the bright blue sky. Notice the snow - this photo was taken well
into July.
