Wizard Island

Infobox Mountain
Name = Wizard Island
Photo = Wizzard island crater lake 5.jpg
Caption = Wizard Island viewed from the west rim of the caldera.
Elevation = convert|6933|ft|m [http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=nnnn Peakbagger.com] ]
Location = Crater Lake, Oregon, U.S.
Range = Cascades
Prominence = convert|755|ft|m|0 (varies with water level)
Coordinates = coord|42.9387395|-122.1455841|format=dms|region:US_type:mountain [GNIS|1152566]
Topographic
USGS Crater Lake West 42122-H2
Type = Cinder cone
Volcanic_Arc/Belt = Cascade Volcanic Arc
Age =
Last eruption = about 4600 BC (?)
First ascent =
Easiest route = trail, with boat access

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 convert|6933|ft|m above sea level, about convert|755|ft|m above the average surface of the lake. The cone is capped by a volcanic crater about convert|500|ft|m|-1 wide and convert|100|ft|m|-1 deep. The crater was named the "Witches Cauldron" by Will G. Steel in 1885, who also gave Wizard Island its name at the same time. [cite book | last=McArthur | first=Lewis A. and Lewis L. | title=Oregon Geographic Names (6th ed.) | publisher=Oregon Historical Society Press | year=1992 | pages= 957 pp ] The land area of the island is convert|315.85|acre|sqmi km2|3|lk=on.

Formation

Wizard Island was created after Mount Mazama, a large stratovolcano, erupted violently approximately 7,700 years ago, forming the caldera which now contains Crater Lake. Following the cataclysmic caldera-forming eruption, which left a hole about convert|4000|ft|m|-2 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, and the only one to rise above the current lake level, is that of Wizard Island, which rises over convert|2700|ft|m|-1| above the lowest point on the caldera floor and the deepest point in the lake.

Another large cinder cone, Merriam Cone, is located in the northeast part of the lake. Although Merriam Cone rises about Convert|1400|ft|m|-1 above the caldera floor, its summit is still convert|505|ft|m below the average lake level. Its surface features and lack of a crater indicate that Merriam Cone formed under water.

Access

Current public access to Wizard Island 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 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 the crater on top, while the other trail meanders from the dock towards the western end of the island.

References

*
*

External links

* [http://craterlake.wr.usgs.gov/ USGS Crater Lake Data Clearinghouse]
* [http://craterlake.wr.usgs.gov/bathy_images.html USGS Crater Lake Bathymetry Images]
* [http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/dds/dds-72/site/wiz.htm USGS: Crater Lake, OR: Wizard Island Perspective View]
* [http://geopubs.wr.usgs.gov/dds/dds-72/site/merrm.htm USGS: Crater Lake, OR: Merriam Cone Perspective View]
* [http://www.nps.gov/crla/ Crater Lake National Park] (National Park Service)
* [http://www.craterlakelodges.com/Activities-1843.html Crater Lake Boat Tours] (official NPS concessionaire site)