Shamans in historic time forbade most Indians to view the lake, and Indians said nothing about it to trappers and pioneers, who for 50 years did not find it. Then, in 1853, while searching for the Lost Cabin Gold Mine, some prospectors, including John Wesley Hillman, happened onto Crater Lake. Soundings with piano wire by a U.S. Geological Survey party in 1886 set the lake's depth at 1,996 feet, close to sonar findings of 1,932 feet officially recorded in 1959. The clean, clear, cold lakewater contained no fish until they were introduced by humans from 1888 to 1941. Today, rainbow trout and kokanee salmon still survive in Crater Lake.
Wildflowers bloom late and disappear early here, thriving in wet, open areas.
Birds and other animals often seen are ravens, jays, nutcrackers, deer, ground squirrels, and chipmunks. Present but seldom seen are elk, black bears, foxes, porcupines, pine martens, chickaree squirrels, and pikas.