There and Back Again: A Geologist's Journey to Wizard Island in Caldera Lake National Park, Oregon
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 23 июл 2024
- Join the fellowship of geology professor Shawn Willsey as he embarks on a quest to the iconic Wizard Island in Caldera Lake (aka Crater Lake) National Park in Oregon. Hike down from the rim, across the lake by boat, hike up to the summit of the island, and then back again.
00:00 Intro and location
00:16 hike down to lake
01:47 shore of lake
02:39 on boat view of lake
02:50 view of Devil's Backbone
02:58 summit of Wizard Island
09:18 west side of summit
10:21 invigorating finale
Support these videos! Your generous support allows me to travel to these locations and create videos. Send support via:
PayPal: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted...
or click on the "Thanks" button above.
or a good ol' fashioned check to:
Shawn Willsey
College of Southern Idaho
315 Falls Avenue
Twin Falls, ID 83303 
Наука
Hey team. Hope everyone knows I was mostly kidding about changing the lake’s name. It doesn’t bug me as much as I let on, just something fun to stir the pot about. If there was a change, I’d advocate for the name used by native peoples.
We gotcha. Just that I'm halfway serious as you are about being "geologically correct." Might've looked like a crater to whoever name it, but it's for sure a caldera.
One of my very old PNW history book says the mountain was named Mazama (goat) for an early mountain climber group that later became the Mountaineers Club of today. They were the first recorded ones to verify the mountain and it’s crater(caldera) In the 1800’s. Not sure what name the locals (natives) called it.
@@valeriehenschel1590 The Klamath and Modoc tribes named it Giiwas thousands of years ago, before it collapsed.
@@johnnash5118 So, if renamed, it should be Gilwas National Park. That would solve the Crater/Caldera argument. 😄😂🥰
@@johnnash5118 Thank you for informing us of it's native names.
If only one could of seen that mountain before the collapse. And heard the sound when it did collapse. Thank you Shawn for the history. What a beautiful place.
have
Fun fact. I was there when it happened
Quite the view, seeing Crater Lake from the summit of Wizard Island. As far as an appropriate name, my vote would be ' Mazama Caldera National Park.'
That is why they didn't ask you, that's as dumb as a box of rocks!
SO the park is not named for the caldera but for the crater that is on Wizard Island. Interesting, very interesting indeed. Glad to know you can mark of a bucket list item. You have some cool bucket list locations.
You can support my field videos by clicking on the "Thanks" button just above (right of Like button) or by going here: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=EWUSLG3GBS5W8
wonderful scenery. absolutely jaw dropping
Wizard Island was created after Mount Mazama, a large complex volcano, erupted violently approximately 7,700 years ago, forming its caldera which now contains Crater (Caldera 😁) Lake . Following the cataclysmic caldera-forming eruption, which left a hole about 4,000 feet deep where the mountain had once stood, a series of smaller eruptions over the next several hundred years formed several cinder cones on the caldera floor. The highest of these cones, the only one to rise above the current lake level, is Wizard Island, which rises over 2,700 feet above the lowest point on the caldera floor and the deepest point in the lake.
Another large cinder cone, Merriam Cone, is in the northeast part of the lake. Although Merriam Cone rises about 1,400 feet above the caldera floor, its summit is still 505 feet below the average lake level. Its surface features and lack of a crater indicate that Merriam Cone formed under water
Thanks!
They called it Crater Lake to magnify the attraction and bring in tourism.
It sounds more attractive and familiar than Caldera. Yes, it certainly is deceiving. But they're never going to change the name. Its all about $$
I've been there. I'm from the east coast and a friend took me there but not on the trail. I don't think he knew there was a trail. But I sure wish he did. Because I missed a lot. Thanks for educating me, After all these years I never knew about it. I was there about 15 years ago. It was absolutely beautiful. The blue color is unbelievable an incredible!. Thanks for the tour....😉
Beyond scenery, the Grand Source of many rivers, a real place to connect with, and good facts, Crater Lake a divine Source.
I used to watch Nick Zentner, now I watch you. I like how you describe things that anyone can understand.
Dude you play a guitar like excellent
I watch both, and Myron Cook as well - they're all amazing in their own unique approach.
Thank you. You are way too kind!@@davidkerns5413
I watch 'em _both._ Their styles are different, and that's largely because their objectives are different (Nick isn't just building a RUclips community, he's been doing outreach and recruitment of students and staff at CWU for years and his channel is a large part of that). Shawn is essentially a _teacher_ taking us 'students' on field trips, and he presents it like we're all Geo 101 newbies -- easy on the jargon, presentation that isn't too long, and tells stories you can get your head around and points out the evidence for it.
True. But that Zentner. Boy, he sure gets around. I've wondered about it all though. He has very little info. Not like Willsey or Cook. I like them all. 😂
Thanks, Shawn, for an excellent video with a cool ending! 🥶😄
It was a cold ending. I shriveled up, lol....
You bet!
You get to do all the fun stuff! Carry on and thank you.
Ahh I could feel the cold… Cauldera lake is sure beautiful. Thanks Shawn
Caldera Lake are is exquisite! Thank You
Thanks for the tour. I always wanted to hike to top of Wizard Island in Caldera Lake National Park.
Thank you Professor Willsey!
Another good video. Thank you.
Wow, great video, thank you Professor Shawn
That landscape is absolutely mindblowing, just seeing it from the video. How much more awesome must it be experiencing it in real life? Thanks for these amazing images, Shawn!
Concerning Crater Lake: Maybe you could fill the crater on Wizard Island with water and then point out that you now have a crater lake within a crater lake. And that this kind of absurdity has to be resolved, for instance by renaming the 'big' Crater Lake into Caldera Lake. ;-)
Beautiful scenery
Excellent geo-ed adventure.
Thx Prof. ✌🏻
My new favorite video of yours. Agree with your quest to rename it Caldera Lake.🌋
It was mostly tongue in cheek but hey, one can always hope.
Thanks! For hiking up for the view…so we don’t have to🤣. Russian judge scores a generous 2.0 on the dive…
I am going there in a few weeks. What would get me would be the walk to and from the boat! It's about a mile each way if I remember right.
You're right, it's a caldera. But just try getting a whole bunch of people to change even a slight pronunciation of any word!
Thanks Shawn. This beautiful lake and its geological history have always fascinated me. I haven't made it there yet. The state of Oregon belongs to my daughter, in case anyone needs to know. She claimed it. She wants me to visit the place but it's hers. I can keep Utah, she says. That's fine.
Thanks!
Much appreciated! Thanks for watching.
Caldera Lake it is! Logical to make it geologically correct! I’ll buy the first tshirt!
The dip in the lake was fun to watch. Ice cold no doubt!
Came here when i was like 10 and had no clue of the significance of this Caldara. Thanks
I've always been curious about Crater Lake, thank you so much for the very informative video. It's wonderful to get such a close=in look. Too bad about all the dead trees though.
Okay, I am totally on board (no boat-pun intended) with your geologic peeve. I tend to enjoy or approve of precision in description, understanding is more enlightening and more fun than obscuring ignorance-
What a view top of the world MOM thank you stay safe
I was there back in 1988, but it was a brief visit.
I had read all about this place when I was a little kid, and it was one of the things that first got me interested in Geology and Earth History.
So I had to go have a gander when I was in the general vicinity, even though we only had time to drive up to it, get out and have a look, and leave.
I did not know about that shuttle, or I would have gone to the island.
Now I have to go back!
Geologists of the world, unite! (btw, didn't see a wizard on the island either) Thanks for the invigorating finale.
Maybe name it Gandalf Island???
I’ve been there only once when I was just six years old but I remember being there and looking at the perfectly still water on that day was surreal.
I rode with friends in 1998 on our motorcycles in August. Got up to visitor center just before closing. Asked a Ranger about camping. He said you do not want to camp up here as the temps will be 34 degrees F. So we rode up to Diamond Lake.
I jumped into a pool in a mountain stream in Wales, late August one year (maybe 1980 ?).
I swear my heart stopped for a few seconds !!
Couldn't move or even breath. 🏊♂
I think you’re right about the nomenclature. How about calling it Mt. Mazama Lake or Mazama Lake or Mazama Caldera Lake +National Park of course. What name did or do the indigenous people have for the Lake?
Thanks Shawn. The most terrifying place I’ve ever been. My dad, a geophysicist brought me there to share natural inspiration and truth. The “old lady’s “ homestead that got wiped out in the current eon earthquakes shake me to this day. Thanks🌲⚕️🪶
I'm curious can you share more about what happened?
Yup the trail is steep . That's why you see so many benches at all the bends. Great cardiology and Buns of Steel workout going back uphill.
Sir, thank you for showing beautiful American nature. Best wishes from Poland.
와.. 풍경이 끝내주네요
There's a nice little 15-foot cliff at Cleetwood Cove where you can jump into the very cold waters.
Shawn I believe throwing a nod to the native Klamath peoples here as they call it Lake Gii-was , meaning a sacred place.
It still could be called Caldera Lake National Park. Of note a parasitic plant called Dwarf Mistletoe killed off all those trees
on Wizard Island. Sure gives it a foreboding look to the whole area.
I’d be fine with the native name. I was 90% kidding on the whole deal. Just having fun.
@@shawnwillsey Me too but there is a slice of society that when given enough time , will probably demand it.
for that matter, the native name would be the best... I've always been curious how one names a place if it doesn't already have a name. There is a place along the north fork of the Feather River in northern California near where I live that, due to an incident a friend of mine... shall we say... "experienced" I have always wanted to name. It would be in the tradition where places are named based on a notable event that occurred there. As it happens, in this case, the name would be "Torn Scrotum Slopes"... peace.@@shawnwillsey
caldera: late 17th century: from Spanish, from late Latin caldaria ‘boiling pot’. crater: early 17th century (denoting the hollow forming the mouth of a volcano): via Latin from Greek kratēr ‘mixing-bowl’, from krasis ‘mixture’.
10:22 You're a better man than I. Ain't no way I'm jumping into water that cold.
Actually was less cold than I anticipated. Did it again one more time after this one.
@@shawnwillseyAfter you jump into Crescent Lake in Olympic National Park, you can let me know which one is colder!!!🤣🤣🤣
Mt. Mazama National Park makes more sense to me. But it's only a name. "I don't care what you call me so long as you call me to dinner". Thanks for the vid.
Agreed!
As a " fugitive" ( with no victim) i thank you for what I will never see.
even though I lived in Sprague River
Spectacular place, both the Island and Caldera lake. I think in general terms Crater implies any type of pit though of course for geology fans that is not the case. However I agree that the general public on knowing the volcano had colapsed in on itself leaving behind that enormous Caldera would create in the observer a true appreciation. .....Shawn, the water must have been cold, the lake being so deep and snow melt fed. Still it would have freshed you up for the hike back to the top. Well done !
Perhaps the crater in Crater Lake is at the top of Wizard Island. The Crater in the Caldera. When the air is as clear as the water the experience is even more astounding. There's even a chance of a low flight of F-15's into the "caldera", BELOW the rim, from the nearby Air Station, in Klamath Falls. (oops). Thanks, also, for the description of Llao Rock as a distinct mass of lava. An interesting fact also, is that there is a cliffside in western Lane County, Mapleton, Or, called ole Roman Nose, elevation, merely 1000m, almost 200 miles away, where, again on a CLEAR day, I could see Llao Rock!!! Then when spanning from north to south, each of the volcanoes from Mt Hood, some 230 miles to the n/e, even past Llao to as far as to Mt Shasta, Ca. That's a lot of volcanoes!!! Total eastern view is over 340 miles!!! I image Mt St Helens might have also been visible from there, as well prior to 5-18-80 at 8:20 am.
At least Crater Lake is not named after a politician.
I never knew this was a volcanic feature. Earlier schooling taught it was caused by a meteor, unless I was entirely asleep. Thank you for the correction.
I agree with your peeve. Caldera is all correct, informative and challenging to any who might otherwise not care. The park is federal, so a renaming requires effort targeted in that direction. Not sure how I can help. Love the video! Just sayin'.
It is unfortunate that this is Oregon’s only National Park. So I would approve of Congress giving us a second one, Caldera Lake NP, and have it so happen to share the same boundaries of the existing park. Visitors could choose which one they wanted to visit upon entry!
I am surprised you history revisionists don't want to call it Karl Marx lake!
Hi. How does the lake water volume reach equilibrium to the depth it is? How old is the lake? Thanks.
I read it has active venting around wizard island underwater. How watched is the area by a geologist or is risk not enough?
It is monitored along with rest of Cascades by the USGS
The light coloured eruptive rocks show the high explosivity.
I agree, accuracy is valuable - we should rename to "Caldera lake". :).
I was there 20 years or so ago and did the boat tour, but didn't stop a Wizard Island. Thanks for showing it to us. BTW, where is "The Old Man" now?
Old man was near the NW shore of the lake. A little west of devils backbone.
Even though it is no longer a "tall" mountain, I would possibly go so far as to rename it Mt. Mazama Nat'l. Park.
It was mostly tongue in cheek.
What an amazing place! We get nothing like this in the UK on this kind of scale. Why are so many trees dead on the island? Any ideas?
Pacific Mountain beetle kills; only forest fires decimate them, which doesn’t happen much inside the caldera with little ground cover.
Anybody know how much the boat costs? And if you need to pre-register for it?
Yes you want to prepay for boat. There are two options: boat shuttle (which I took), which drops you off for 3.5 hours and boat tours. (No time on island). The shuttle was $28. Well worth it to see the lake this way. You do have to do a one mile hike down to lake, dropping 700 ft in elevation.
How about Mazama Lake? Like Yellowstone lake, etc.
“Mazama” is a made up name from a Portland mountaineering club “The Mazamas.” The only name for the mountain is Giiwas, of Klamath and Modoc tribal origin dating thousands of years. “Lake” is a shortsighted name because it lumps the epic creation with every water-filled depression. The more appropriate term instead of lake would be caldera. So Giiwas Caldera would be best imho.
Crater Lake is fine, there’s a crater in the lake.
😁
I’ll see myself out…
Fun, Shawn, and funny. 🥶 I appreciate the notes on screen. Very curious how so MUCH ash was thrown out. Were there several eruptions? Shall Wizard Island be renamed as well? 😎
Just dropped by to say I really enjoy your videos! I've been a geology enthusiast since I was a kid growing up in SoCal, wondering why the earth occasionally moved under my feet.
I have a question about Crater/Caldera lake - any possibility of a limnic eruption ever happening there?
Wow, great question. With the lake being so deep, I can't imagine how much CO2 would need to be build up to produce such an event. I would think there might be precursor signs.
@@shawnwillsey I watched a little doc on limnic eruptions recently & have been dwelling on them since. I just Googled and read that a lake has to be meromictic (a new word for me!) where the water is hypoxic & doesn't mix, in order for C02 to build up. There are many such lakes throughout the U.S. being monitored, apparently, like Soda Lake in Nevada (which looks like a really interesting geo area!). Thanks for responding!
Would have liked to see the boat and docks better. Is there a low point around the lake that allows access for a boat???
Boat access is at Cleetwood Cove on north side of lake. Hike to lake is about a mile with 700 ft of elevation drop. Then hike back out after boat shuttle. They apparently helicoptered the boat into the lake then keep it in a dry dock structure on the island over winter.
The golden-mantle ground squirrels on Wizard Island are a little too friendly.
Sir, may I ask an off topic question? Is there any way to know what percentage of all rocks have been eroded away since the Hadean Period? Is there a way to estimate what percent of all rocks are being eroded away annually?
Strahler/Strahler, "Modern Physical Geography" (1992) has a description of an erosion model. According to that a mountain range with a maximum initial height of 6000 meters (roughly 3.7 miles) needs about 15 million years to being eroded to half its height, provided it is situated in a humid climate and has rivers. But be aware that the erosion rates are going down exponentially, the lower a mountain range is (the less relief energy it has).
Can't say much much more because I don't have that book. The example was referenced in a german book about geomorphology that I have ("Geomorphologie", Harald Zepp). Maybe you should try to get the book by Strahler/Strahler.
Thanks; that's helpful.@@7inrain
Actually the example you gave, strikes me as quite fast!
❤
Captured water filled the caldera and there is no exit to it and water is still falling, so is the lake gaining level every year?
My understanding is there's enough evaporation from the lake to maintain the lake level within a few feet up or down. I'd think there is probably some seepage along the lake banks and the bottom.
The lake level never varies more than 5 feet.
90' deep, 300' across.
Super Collossal Ultra-plinian eruption 7700 years ago
5:54 I'm not sure I like the ring of "Caldera Lake" much better. It's serviceable, but since it was once Mt. Mazama, what's wrong with calling it _Lake_ Mazama, or Mazama Lake? Are there any other lakes we know of named Mazama?
Yes -- as it turns out there IS a Mazama Lake - in Washington. But I hardly classify it as a lake; it's more like a pond than a lake. Kinda wimpy.
I suggested Lake Mazama, too. Or Lake Mazama National Park.
Good luck on that. I know it is not your department, but did you see any small mammals on Wizard Island?
Didn't see any.
What do you call meteor crater in Arizona
I was mostly kidding with the whole crater/caldera thing. However, Meteor Crater is a true crater as it involved ejecting material (via impact) to form the depression.
How deep is the lava flow that heads to the shoreline of Caldera lake?
Not sure which one you mean. Please clarify.
Okay! Caldera lake it is
Why isn’t wizard island’s crater filled with water? I think it’s elevation difference, but is it that simple?
Rock is too porous and permeable to allow water to collect. It drains downward to lake.
It was named in 1853. It's hard to change place names.
Indeed. I was 90% joking.
@@shawnwillsey I live about a block from Crater Lake Avenue. When it's hot like today, I'm okay with calling it Caldera Avenue.
Why didn’t they name it Mazama Lake? (I’m from across the Atlantic; probably this was debated long ago).
How about Mt Mazama Lake?
🤪😜😂 I’ll happily continue to call it Crater Lake. Mazama is Goat, (name of the mountain), so you could argue to call it Goat Lake National Park. But it was called a crater long before a scientist theorized (and proved?) that it was a caldera, and not just a super huge blown out crater. I believe it to be both, so am content to retain the name as is.
.i agree
Caldera lake being so recent - are there any First Nation indigenous stories that survive of the event?
Yes. Something about a beaver and a fox fighting which caused the mountain to fill with water. Been a while since I've heard it.
The Klamath tribe has a lot of traditional stories about the creation of Giiwas (their name for the lake) of the event. Their ancestors were around to experience it since archaeological evidence indicates people were in the area for 7000 years or so before Mazama blew.
wow would love to hear what they were @@phazen3175
it's supposed to have been named for the crater in Wizard island not for the caldera. :)
It should be called Mount Mazama caldera lake
My vote is for "Sploded Volcano National Park."
Hmmm . . . gets me to thinkin' . . . "Cones/Caves of the Moon National Monument" . . .
Right! Except there are some legit craters at Craters of the Moon. But also cones, fissures, vents, even tuff rings.
Yep! @@shawnwillsey
Random: My son walked in while I was watching this, and said you look like a famous game developer named Jonathan Blow. I looked him up, and my son is right: You _do_ look like Jonathan Blow.
One question, can this still erupt in the future? Or is it extinct?
It's considered dormant which means it could erupt in the future.
Yep. Dormant and likely to have future eruptions of some size.
Any fish?
Here you go. www.nps.gov/crla/planyourvisit/fishing.htm
I have heard that the folks who named it Crater Lake were actually referring to the crater on Wizard Island. I can envision arriving somewhere along the western rim on a somewhat cloudy day, where the most obvious thing to first catch one's eye as they look down is the spiffy little cone with the crater on top.
Nevertheless, I can't support a name change - unless the new name highlights the incredible blue color of the water.
Mostly joking with this proposal. All in good fun.
And legend has it in my neck of the woods, that the location is actually named after the guy who found it (first European, that is), a feller by the name of Jebediah Q. Crater. Same guy who founded the nearby town of Crater Gulch, and also who discovered the jewel and gold encrusted gulch that Crater Gulch was named after. But when the Mammy Load ran out, the whole town withered and died. Known now only by the legend, and by Jebediah Q. Crater Lake.
Jebediah was the only one who stood up and prevented another feller, name of Pepe Del Monte, from sticking a pipe into the side of Mount Mazuma and piping all that clear blue agua down to feed the thirsty veggie farms of the Central Valley. Just think, if not for old Jebediah, Crater Lake would have been a load of niblets corn and maybe a few cans of peas.
Rename Shawn Willsey. Its a pet pev of mine!
If we change the name to Caldera Lake, then my refrigerator magnets will be null and void.
Well, if the rock falls on the west rim continue and fill in, it will no longer be appropriate to call it "Wizard Island". it will then be "Wizard Peninsula" within "Caldera Lake"
The original Woodstock Concert in 1969 was held in Bethel, NY, not Woodstock, NY.
I first saw Crater Lake with my family in 1959 or 1960. Yes, it is a caldera.
Many modern physicists believe Benjamin Franklin misnamed electrical charge polarities, i.e. - the electron should have been assigned a positive charge due to the direction of current flow.
Sometimes it's hard to change mistakes that have been embedded themselves in the culture so long.
Shawn, your journey vids are fantastic. Don't change your style or energy.
I gotta stop watching for a while ? Two new camping trips in two videos!
Nice 👍 thanks
I agree with changing the name to Caldera Lake. But I would also like to know why they call cinder cones "Buttes"?
Many names were coined by farmers, trappers and explorers uneducated in geology; they had a poor geologic vocabulary.
thats a deep lake i think its about 1900 ft deep
I’m not a geologist, so crater lake still sounds better. Calderas don’t usually look like craters!
Because of alliteration, Crater Lake is a better name than Caldera Lake-also because it's easier to remember.
Did those pine trees die because of a steam or toxic gas eruption from that vent in the recent past?
How often does it "vent"?
IOW, how much of a risk is a person taking to be on that island?
I am thinking of those people who went sightseeing in New Zealand a few years back and got a steam bath. The real kind I mean.
The Crater Lake area has largely been quiet for the last 4,800 years. Any future eruption will be preceded by earthquake activity, slope deformation, and (likely) gas emissions.