Wizard Island is a volcanic cinder cone which forms an island at the west end of Crater Lake in Crater Lake National Park , Oregon . The top of the island reaches 6,933 feet (2,113 m) above sea level , about 755 feet (230 m) above the average surface of the lake.
9-495: The cone is capped by a volcanic crater about 500 feet (150 m) wide and 100 feet (30 m) deep. The crater was named the "Witches Cauldron" by William Gladstone Steel in 1885, who also gave Wizard Island its name at the same time. The land area of the island is 315.85 acres (127.82 ha). Wizard Island was created after Mount Mazama , a large complex volcano , erupted violently approximately 7,700 years ago, forming its caldera which now contains Crater Lake. Following
18-490: A crater lake . These lakes may become soda lakes , many of which are associated with active tectonic and volcanic zones. A crater may be breached during an eruption, either by explosions or by lava , or through later erosion. Breached craters have a much lower rim on one side. Some volcanoes, such as maars , consist of a crater alone, with scarcely any mountain at all. These volcanic explosion craters are formed when magma rises through water-saturated rocks, which causes
27-408: A conduit, until they reach the crater's vent, from where the gases escape into the atmosphere and the magma is erupted as lava . A volcanic crater can be of large dimensions, and sometimes of great depth. During certain types of explosive eruptions , a volcano's magma chamber may empty enough for an area above it to subside, forming a type of larger depression known as a caldera . In most volcanoes,
36-399: Is available only during the summer months when boat tours on Crater Lake are in operation. The tours depart from Cleetwood Cove at the north end of the lake, and circle the lake in the counterclockwise direction, stopping at a dock at Governors Bay on the south side of Wizard Island. Passengers on boat trips early in the day may choose to disembark on the island, but must be prepared to spend
45-420: The caldera floor and the deepest point in the lake. Another large cinder cone, Merriam Cone, is in the northeast part of the lake. Although Merriam Cone rises about 1,400 feet (430 m) above the caldera floor, its summit is still 505 feet (154 m) below the average lake level. Its surface features and lack of a crater indicate that Merriam Cone formed under water. Current public access to Wizard Island
54-411: The cataclysmic caldera-forming eruption, which left a hole about 4,000 feet (1,200 m) deep where the mountain had once stood, a series of smaller eruptions over the next several hundred years formed several cinder cones on the caldera floor. The highest of these cones, the only one to rise above the current lake level, is Wizard Island, which rises over 2,700 feet (820 m) above the lowest point on
63-423: The crater is situated at the top of a mountain formed from the erupted volcanic deposits such as lava flows and tephra . Volcanoes that terminate in such a summit crater are usually of a conical form. Other volcanic craters may be found on the flanks of volcanoes, and these are commonly referred to as flank craters . Some volcanic craters may fill either fully or partially with rain and/or melted snow, forming
72-418: The crater on top while the other trail meanders from the dock towards the western end of the island. Volcanic crater A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity. It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During volcanic eruptions , molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an underground magma chamber , through
81-411: The entire day on the island if subsequent boats are too full to take on additional passengers. Those on late afternoon boat trips are not permitted to disembark. A final boat is dispatched at the end of each day to pick up any stragglers since overnight camping is not permitted on the island. Two hiking trails are available on Wizard Island, one of which switchbacks up the flanks of the cone and circles
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