Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1920-06-03

country that contain miniature lakes; but ueie
is only one really great caldera of this KIND Ii ue
world-only one immense basin apparently loimeu
through the complete melting by intense heat =
the entire core of a great volcano, ana the iaiNne
in and utter disappearance through suptefrahean
caverns of its massive bulk.
The titanic CONFUSION that formed this remark
able beauty-spot no human eye witnessed. aeoo
gists have concluded that ages ago, in the great
chain of volcanic mountain peaks winch touas @
tends from Washington to Cal~ifornia-among them
Mt. Rainier. Mt. Hood, Mt. Adams, Mt. Jefferson,
Three Sisters, Mt. Mclaughlin, Mt. Shasta ana Las
sen peak-there lowered one, which has beeh
called Mount Mazama, that may have topped tne
tallest of it's fellows. Judging from the pitch
of the remnants of it's outer slopes, sclentists con-
clude with reasonable certainty that, Ii recon-
structed, it's snow-clad peak would rise 1rom
seven to eight thousand feet above It's broken
rim. Mazama stands today an uncroWned hnhs'
shorn of it's diadem of burning gold and glitterlng
silver vet holding within it's heart a treasure the
rarest in the world-a beautiful lake, the deepest
of all lakes, with waters the bluest OF all piue
waters. And this is Crater lake.
Crater lake is almost circular, varying from hVe
to six miles in diameter. Its known depth is z'VVo
feet and it is believed to be the deepest body OF
fresh water in the world. It's surface is 6,l77
feet above the sea. 1t has no inlet or outler, oelhs
fed by springs and winter SHOWS; It's wafer es-
canes by underground channels, reappearing as
springs in the Klamath region, a few miles away.
# is completely girdled by precipitous cliffs and
steep talus slopes that fall sharply downward
from its rim 1000 to 600 feet to the waters edge.
Closely encircling it rise many high peaks, notably
Ilao Rock, The Watchman, and CLOUD Cap; also
Glacier, Garfield and Vidae Peaks.
Surrounded by canyons, ravines and plnnacieu
rocks. and belted by a wilderness OF boulder
strewn forests, the region for years was 1nacces-
sible, and unexplored except by the more ven
turesome who were attracted by stories OF the
Indians of this mystery lake in its fantastic set
ting. Yet it's discovery was accidental; 1t &C
Cured in 1853. while an exploring party was
searching in the Cascade mountains for the fam
Gus Lost Cabin mine.
A dispute arose over the choice of a name, the
Marty dividing between Mysterious lake and Deer
Pine lake. The advocates of Deep Blue lake wor
the vote, but in 1869 a visiting party renamed !
Crater lake, and this by natural right became 10
title.
The first sight of Crater lake is well-nigh be
wilderfng. Unless looked into from the rim It i
invisible. Wonderment at the height and steep
ness of it's encircling cliffs succeeds the first as
Punishment: admiration of the loneliness of it
coioring next enthralls the beholder in the sc
auence of impressions. Its unique beauty lies i
no small measure in its coloring, the brillianc
of which If reproduced in painting or print woul
seem exaggerated and impossible to those wn
have not seen the reality. Nowhere else Is ther
such an azure. One feels that a glass OF its we
for would show blue as If stained with cobalt, bu
It is clear as crystal and as pure. The deepe
narts are a brilliant ultramarine, shading 7
turquoise in the shallower reaches, and to Igf
Jade green in the few indented coyes around @
shore. A. hundred feet down the glaze OF q pla'
is plainly discernible. The surroundings nelp q
brilliance Of the blue; the rocks are of METAL
hpas the peaks Of the rim are often snow covered
the lava gray Of the steep SCARED walls is mottie
and splotched with bright yellows and reds, mar
ings left by volcanic action long ago, and aIWa'
there is the dark green Of the pines and FRS az
shrubs that grow on these declvities Wnerev
thav And root-hold. The waters are usually pla
i'd. cleaning as though glazed by the sun, and
this mirror Of Nature the reflections stand 9
with astounding distinctness,
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