When Mt. Saint Helens erupted in 1980, millions of people were reminded that some of the world's most potentially dangerous volcanoes lie along the Pacific Northwest coast. However, when Mount Mazama erupted approximately 7,000 years ago, the blast was 42 times greater than that of Mt. Saint Helens. Ash fallout from Mt. Mazama reached eastern Montana and into Saskatchewan, Canada. The remnants from this fiery event still evoke awesome images of the power which created the Crater Lake landscape.

Mt. Mazama began its illustrous career over 400,000 years ago. Scores of vents opened up on the mountain and released lava flows which averaged at least 20 to 30 feet in thickness. An irregularly shaped mountain began to form, today known as a shield volcano. Molten rock, or magma, oozed and spurted from these many openings until 20,000 years ago, when the volcano entered into a dormant phase. However, this was not to last forever .

The event which heralded the doom of Mt. Mazama was the opening of a vent somewhere on the north side of the mountain. A column of ash and pumice was sent up by the volcano, creating a blanket of debris 20 feet thick in places. As the pressure of the underground magma grew, a series of other vents around the mountain opened up. Enormous quantities of pyroclastic, or molten rock composed of pumice, material were released. These lava flows travelled up to 25 miles beyond the base of the volcano.

As the volcano emptied itself of molten rock, an empty chamber was left underground. The mass of the mountain collapsed in on this void within a matter of days after the eruption. What was left, a 4,000 foot deep caldera and a myriad of other geologic formations, have awed and inspired people for generations. Crater Lake National Park is dedicated to preserving this environment for the study and enjoyment of future generations.