Oregon's Volcanoes

Oregon is home to numerous Volcanoes, and while they are all in slumber, they have the potential to be quite dangerous, but that doesn't stop tourist and travlers alike from visiting some of these.

All of Oregon's volcanoes lie in the Cascade mountain range as can be seen on the map below. There are four major volcanoes, all of which are dormant. The last volcanic activity in Oregon was in 1955 (Mount Jefferson)

Probably one of the most famous volcanic tourist attractions in the Pacific Northwest, Crater Lake (which is a caldera lake) was formed nearly 8,000 years ago during a massive eruption of Mount Mazama. The lake is a popular tourist attraction because of boat rides to Wizard Island as well as the deep-blue color of the water.

Basically, Crater Lake is a lake nestled in a crater on a dormant volcano. What makes lakes like Crater Lake so rare are the way Caldera Lakes are formed. Geologists suggest that Mount Mazama was a composite volcano (A steep volcano comprised of many layers of lava flows) the top literally sank into the top after an eruption after time, the crater filled with water.