Crater Lake National Park

Mt. Mazama, sacred Native American site, exploded around 6,000 B.C. The magma chamber emptied and the 12,000' mountain sunk. As you watch this short video clip taken upon our arrival (yes, it was snowing) I have listed some questions for further exploration. I will not identify questions by age group as some grade school students are far more curious than middle school or high school students.

• Where is Crater Lake National Park? Be specific, don't simply give the state. Compare latitude location of Crater to Chicago, IL, is it north or south? How far?
• How did the lake come to be? (Be as detailed as you wish.)
• How deep at its deepest point?
• Are there fish in the lake?
• How wide is the lake?
• What Native American tribes were in the area?   (then and now)
• What have archaeologists found in this area? (Hint, item is older than the eruption?)
• What animals are native to the region?
• How much snow does this region receive during a "normal" winter? What about the 12/13 winter?
• How far is Crater Lake from your home? What roads would you take to get there? How many hours or days would it take? If more than one day travel.....how much fuel would it take your car, truck, camper, etc. to get there?
• What is the elevation of Crater Lake? Average temperature during July? October? February?
• Is swimming allowed in the lake? Water temperature is _______.
• What other major mountains can be seen from Crater Lake trails? How far away are each of them?
• What major west coast trail can be reached from Crater Lake National Park?
• What trails within the park look the most interesting to hike? What would you need to take with you to insure a comfortable hike?
• If camping, what campground looks the most interesting?
• If you were to swim the circumference of the lake, as close to shore as possible, how many miles would you swim?
• How were the "pinnacles" formed?

I hope these questions might make your trip more interesting. I'll try to post another short video from the park and possibly some pictures.