Cascade Peaks: Mount Mazama

Phantom Ship isn't a ship of course—it's an island, the tip of an ancient mountain much older than Mount Mazama. When you see Phantom Ship from one of the overlooks on the road around the lake, you see it from 1,000 feet above; it looks like a ship sometimes from there.

But from down on the water, it looks like what it is—very old rock sticking out of the water. The boat goes pretty close to it, but no one is allowed to go on to the island, so it remains today as it has been for ages, changed only by the forces of nature.


Wizard Island, a relatively recent cinder cone, seen from the lake. This cone was formed after the lake was present. Passengers can leave the boat and stay on the island until the next trip if they arrange it when they purchase their ticket.		Small cinder cones adjacent to Wizard Island. This view really surprised me—it looks more like tropical isles or something than Crater Lake. These cinder cones are the newest formations on Mount Mazama.

The wall of the caldera, seen on the way from Wizard Island to Phantom Ship. "Caldera" is Spanish for "cauldron," which is what the crater looks like.		Six features of Crater Lake: Phantom Ship on the left (where the trees are), Wizard Island in front of the Watchman and Hillman Peak, which are part of the caldera wall, and the lake itself.


At about one-half of the way down the mile-long trail, we see the boats below. Each boat holds 60 passengers, plus a crew of three, one of whom conducts the tour.	Devil's Backbone is a lava dike, formed as Mount Mazama was in its growth phase.	Small streams of snowmelt cascade down the caldera wall, forming spawning ground for the kokanee salmon which inhabit the lake.

Lichens grow on the ancient rock of Phantom Ship, the peak which was here before Mazama grew up around it.	Pumice Castle, a formation high on the caldera wall.	A buoy marks the deepest point of the lake, +-1,932 feet.

You may buy the Cascade Peaks CD, which has on it all of the Cascade Peaks photos on this site, plus nearly two hundred more -- 550 altogether -- in a larger size, suitable for viewing full screen or printing your own enlargements. Sample photo.