Oregon Territory

Awesome Crater Lake truly is truly a natural wonder; one of the clearest, deepest and bluest lakes in the world. A must see on any visit to Oregon, it’s up to 2000 feet deep and fills much of the caldera of an enormous volcano. Most of Crater Lake National Park is near or above 7000 feet elevation and is closed in winter, so you’ll want to plan your visit between late spring and early fall. Note: The road to the top from the north entrance is not for the faint-of-heart driver; enter from the south for a more relaxing trip to the lodge on the rim.

The upper Rogue River of southern Oregon thunders at the rate of 400,000 gallons of water per minute through a deep gorge as narrow as 25 feet (upper photo). The gorge is cut through relatively young lava laid down about 7000 years ago by the mammoth eruption of Mt. Mazama, which also resulted in the creation of breathtaking Crater Lake. In the lower picture, the river emerges from a cave at the end of a several hundred foot long lava tube, forming a natural land bridge.

The McKenzie River Scenic Highway’s National Volcanic Monument provides a stark testiment to the Cascade volcanoes which formed much of central Oregon. These lava beds are about 13,000 years old and include flows from the Three Sisters and neighboring mountains. The top picture shows, well, a whole lot of lava, as well as a few scraggly trees that have managed to grow in the many centuries since. Two of the Sisters are shown in the middle photo. The lower photo shows the stone overlook at the Monument, which includes a paved 3/4-mile walking trail through the lava fields. This highway and monument are closed in winter due to snow, so you’ll want to visit preferably sometime between May and October.

Central Oregon’s Metolius River flows mysteriously from the base of a cinder cone named Black Butte and meanders through meadow and forest for 25 miles, before arriving at Lake Billy Chinook reservoir. Along the way it provides lovely scenery in this dry Cascade Mountain landscape. The bottom photo shows a waterwheel which provides water to a cabin formerly owned by our family for 40 years.