A warm summer day in the High Cascades, elevation 7000'. Almost anything can happen, and on this particular day it did. What started out as a mostly sunny day turned into an afternoon of thunder, lightning, downpours, hail storms and even a brief snowstorm. You don't have to be so terribly high when you are this close to the Pacific; moisture is available and magical things can happen,
Crater Lake Moods
Wizard Island is perhaps the most iconic landform at the lake. Rising a mere 400 feet or so above the water surface, it seems swallowed up by the towering rim. The "two steps forward, one step back" nature of the cinder cone when you ascend makes it a formidable 400'. The weather is coming...
Framing the Wizard
To the Klamath Peoples Llao was the God of the Underworld, coming through a hole in Mt. Mazama to meet and do battle with the Sky God Skell. The result of the battle was the eruption of Mt. Mazama and the formation of Crater Lake. Thunder and lightning are going off around Mt. Thielsen to the north (on the far skyline).
Llao rising
A view of Wizard Island and the south rim of the lake from the Devil's Backbone on the west side. A lightning show is playing out across the southern sky, even though the light is brighter there. Mt. McLaughlin is middle right on the far skyline. At 9500' McLaughlin is the tallest of the Cascade Peaks around here.
southern crossing
The western rim is home to a number of massive basaltic dikes, including the great Devil's Backbone. Dike swarms on more level terrain (such as those around Shiprock, NM) have been used as natural fencing by those running cattle and sheep. This rugged countryside is nevertheless not a deterrent to the golden-mantled ground squirrel.
western backbone
The eastern rim is home to Mt. Scott, at just over 8900', the highest point in the park. The drive around the east side takes you up from the Hemlock and Douglas Fir of the (relatively) lower elevations, through the Lodgepole Pine forest to the high-elevation Whitebark Pine stand above 8000'.
eastern approaches
The view is southeast into the Klamath Basin, the extreme northwest corner of the Basin and Range Province.
Klamath Lake, the heart of the basin, and the source of life in the basin is out there. At the moment, it is the water suspended in the sky that demands attention...
klamath lands
Even this deep into the summer, color can still be found on the cinder-strewn landscape. The storm begins to the northwest of the lake, in the direction of the Diamond Lake country. A slight chill settles in on the mountain...
the sky awakens
This photo is about the small holes in the sky above The Pumice Desert, with the great shield volcano topped by Mt. Thielsen in the background. So-called because of the lack of trees, the Pumice Desert is a broad valley on the northwest side of the lake.
the pumice desert
A moment after the photograph above...
The sky has changed again entirely, closing up, becoming even darker, the storm more intense. But so to is the color across the far skyline.
pumice desert part II
The effect is surreal... Moments after the clouds break and the sun returns, the summer heat comes back as well. And with the heat's return the forest turns into a sauna with mist hanging in the air. The landscape becomes unfocused, the air thick and difficult to breath...
after the storm
High on the west slope of the great lake-capped mountain, the small tributaries that will become the Rogue River rise, their water's noisy, energetic, unleashed. Depending on the light colors can range from a light green to aquamarine to blue.
the rising river
After the Storm...
A quiet moment on the shore of Diamond Lake, just northwest of the Park. Mt. Bailey carries the last traces of snow from winter on the northeast ridge. One formidable-looking cloud remains, threatening, just leaving a last reminder...