Crater Lake, in southern Oregon and about a two-hour drive from the California border, formed nearly 7,700 years ago when the volcano, Mount Mazama, violently erupted. The volcano collapsed on itself with enough force to incinerate parts of Oregon, Washington and spewed ash as far as Vancouver and Kansas. The event exerted 46 times more force than that of San Francisco's 1906 earthquake.
Scientists believe the hole left after the explosion filled up with snowmelt and rainwater over the next 600 to 800 years to form Crater Lake. Because the volcanic terrain limits the amount of nutrients in the lake and bars streams from coming in or out of the lake, the water is pure blue and largely comprised of snowmelt.
The lake is a U.S. National Park.
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