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UNITED STATES
DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE
CRATER LAKE NATIONAL PARK
NATURE NOTES
| Volume XI |
September 1938 |
Number 3 |
Nature Notes from Crater Lake National Park are issued during the
summer months. These pamphlets contain articles describing the natural
features of the Park, Oregon Caves National Monument and Lava Beds
National Monument, the two monuments being administered by the staff of
Crater Lake National Park. Copies of Nature Notes may be obtained from
the Park Superintendent, Crater Lake, Oregon. The reprinting of the
articles appearing in Nature Notes is encouraged. Please give credit to
the pamphlet and author.
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E. P. Leavitt
Superintendent |
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John E. Doerr, Jr., Editor
Park Naturalist |
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Cover - The Phantom Ship by Nancy Elliott Doerr from
a photograph by Elmer C. Aldrich
Preface
By John E. Doerr, Jr., Editor
Crater Lake National Park
The park includes an area of 250 square miles on the crest of the
Cascade Range in southern Oregon. The area was established as a national
park in 1902, preserving the unsurpassed scenic beauty of Crater Lake, a
deep lake, the clear fresh water of which reflects and refracts unusual
hues of blue. Color is only one of the elements of the inspiring beauty
of Crater Lake. Its setting is unique. The lake, having an area of 20
square miles, is cupped within the crater of an extinct volcano. Cliffs
500 to 2000 feet high completely surround the lake. The crater walls are
partially mantled with hemlock, fir, and pine trees. On the gentle outer
slopes of the mountain which one ascends in approaching Crater Lake
there are deep canyons, magnificent forests and open meadows supporting
a colorful display of mountain wild flowers. Hiking and fishing are
popular outdoor sports during the summer months. Skiing is popular in
the winter, and the park being accessible throughout the winter months
by the west entrance road from Medford and the south entrance road from
Klamath Falls.
Oregon Caves National Monument
This national monument, an area of 480 acres, is located in the
Siskiyou Mountains in southwestern Oregon. The caves, named "The Marble
Halls of Oregon" by Joaquin Miller, are truly marble halls. Underground
water penetrating to great depth along fractures in the marble formation
has dissolved out an extensive system of chambers. Water dripping from
the ceiling and walls has decorated the halls and passageways with
fantastic stalactites and stalagmites which stimulate one's imagination
as well as one's appreciation of the beauties of nature in caverns never
touched by sunlight. In the magnificent forest around the cave entrance
there are trails along which one gets inspiring views of forest-covered
mountains and valleys. Along the trails one can observe many species of
trees, mammals, and birds.
Lava Beds National Monument
Located in northeastern California, the monument includes an area of
45,000 acres. As the name suggests, volcanic formations, some of quite
recent origin, are of greatest importance. There are hundreds of lava
tubes which were once the passageways for streams of molten lava.
Volcanic cones rise above the general level of the adjacent country.
There are excellent examples of "aa" and "pahoehoe" lava flows. Within
the monument there are interesting historical features including
battlefields of the Modoc War of 1872-73. There are important
ethnological and archaeological features. Petroglyphs on cliffs and
pictographs in caves are evidence that the region was inhabited by
primitive people long before the coming of the white man.
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