Crater Lake in Oregon 1

Abstract

TWENTY years ago, as Mr. Diller informs us, picturesque record of a strange episode in volcanic history was unknown to any but the Indians. It is still not very accessible, for it lies in an unfrequented region, deep set in the summit of the Cascade Range, some sixty-five miles north of the California line, but the United States Government, “recognising its worth as an educational feature,” has already wisely secured it from the speculator and spoiler by making it, a national park. An area of two hundred and fifty square miles is thus protected, of which we find a description in the present memoir. The first part, by Mr. Diller, deals with the geology and physical history of the great volcano, named after a local society Mount Mazama, which was shattered to form Crater Lake, and the second, by Mr. Patton, discusses the petrography of its rocks. It was virtually discovered by Captain Dutton, by whom and by Mr. Diller it has already been noticed; the U.S. Geological Survey has also published a special map, but the story is now completed in this excellently illustrated memoir.