Learn about the volcanic collapse of Mount Mazama and Crater Lake caldera formation in Cascade Range
Crater Lake is located within a huge volcanic caldera in the Cascade Range of southwestern
Oregon. The caldera was formed when the magma underneath a volcano drained away.
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Transcript
NARRATOR: Crater Lake, part of North America's Cascade Range, is a product of volcanism.
This cinder-cone island rising on the western side of the lake, the sheer 600-meter-high cliffs that rim the lake, and the surrounding deposits of lava and ash are all clues to the lake's volcanic history.
Thousands of years ago Mount Mazama, a 3,700-meter volcanic mountain covered the Crater Lake site. Beneath the mountain was a large chamber of magma, a collection of gas and molten rock.
In a tremendously powerful eruption more than 6,000 years ago, cracks opened beneath the volcano and drained away several cubic kilometers of molten material. The weight of the volcanic cone then collapsed into the emptied chamber, leaving behind a great basin—a caldera. The caldera later filled with water, and Crater Lake was created.
This cinder-cone island rising on the western side of the lake, the sheer 600-meter-high cliffs that rim the lake, and the surrounding deposits of lava and ash are all clues to the lake's volcanic history.
Thousands of years ago Mount Mazama, a 3,700-meter volcanic mountain covered the Crater Lake site. Beneath the mountain was a large chamber of magma, a collection of gas and molten rock.
In a tremendously powerful eruption more than 6,000 years ago, cracks opened beneath the volcano and drained away several cubic kilometers of molten material. The weight of the volcanic cone then collapsed into the emptied chamber, leaving behind a great basin—a caldera. The caldera later filled with water, and Crater Lake was created.