Geology topics

Research about Crater Lake National Park

Source-linked reports with geographic coverage including Crater Lake National Park.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2020

Case Study 4: NABat acoustic monitoring allows inferences about bat populations at multiple scales

North American bats face unprecedented risks from continuing and emerging threats including white-nose syndrome, wind energy development, and habitat loss. Many species of bats are thought to be recently experiencing unparalleled population declines unlike any previously observed (O’Shea et al. 2016). The North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat) was conceived to better understand the true ecological consequences of these large-scale population reductions (Loeb et al. 2015). NABat aims is to improve the state of conservation science for the 47 species of bats shared by Canada, United States, and Mexico. To meet this objective, NABat offers standardize protocols and a unifying sample design facilitating a multi-agency, multinational, collaborative monitoring effort. A key element of NABat is cross-boundary partner coordination and sharing of limited resources for the collection of bat echolocation data. Here we provide three compelling examples of how NABat provides a convenient framework for using acoustic data to assess the potential impacts of current and future threats to North American bats across multiple spatial scales.

Oregon↗

USGS2012

Under trees and water at Crater Lake National Park, Oregon

Crater Lake partially fills the caldera that formed approximately 7,700 years ago during the eruption of a 12,000-ft-high volcano known as Mount Mazama. The caldera-forming, or climactic, eruption of Mount Mazama devastated the surrounding landscape, left a thick deposit of pumice and ash in adjacent valleys, and spread a blanket of volcanic ash as far away as southern Canada. Prior to the climactic event, Mount Mazama had a 400,000-year history of volcanic activity similar to other large Cascade volcanoes such as Mounts Shasta, Hood, and Rainier. Since the caldera formed, many smaller, less violent eruptions occurred at volcanic vents below Crater Lake's surface, including Wizard Island. A survey of Crater Lake National Park with airborne LiDAR (Light Detection And Ranging) resulted in a digital elevation map of the ground surface beneath the forest canopy. The average resolution is 1.6 laser returns per square meter yielding vertical and horizontal accuracies of ±5 cm. The map of the floor beneath the surface of the 1,947-ft-deep (593-m-deep) Crater Lake was developed from a multibeam sonar bathymetric survey and was added to the map to provide a continuous view of the landscape from the highest peak on Mount Scott to the deepest part of Crater Lake. Four enlarged shaded-relief views provide a sampling of features that illustrate the resolution of the LiDAR survey and illustrate its utility in revealing volcanic landforms and subtle features of the climactic eruption deposits. LiDAR's high precision and ability to "see" through the forest canopy reveal features that may not be easily recognized-even when walked over-because their full extent is hidden by vegetation, such as the 1-m-tall arcuate scarp near Castle Creek.

Oregon↗

USGS1967

Evaluation of potential sources of water in Crater Lake Natonal Park, Oregon

Crater Lake National Park, in volcanic terrain at the crest of the southern Cascade Range, is well watered by a 67-inch average annual precipitation, measured at park headquarters. Existing park facilities utilize springs that provide quantities of water adequate for present-day as well as foreseeable future needs. Ground water occurs under both perched and water-table conditions in the park. Perched ground-water bodies drain to the numerous springs that issue at various altitudes. Test drilling in the northern part failed to locate perched-water bodies capable of supplying quantities of water adequate for proposed facilities, and established that the regional water table is at an altitude below 4,960 feet. Many springs and streams at altitudes below 6,500 feet in the western, southern, and southeastern parts discharge quantities of water adequate for a variety of park facilities. Future park-facility development should take into account where water supplies are available. The western, southern, and southeastern parts of the park are more favorable than the northern part in this respect. In the northern part of the park, where there are no springs or streams, artificial catchment aprons and storage facilities could be constructed to provide water to points of use. A 100- by 100-foot catchment apron and suitably sized storage tank could provide as much as 1,850 gallons per day for 120 days.

Oregon↗

USGS1902

The Geology and Petrography of Crater Lake National Park

Twenty years ago Crater Lake was unknown to the general public, but since then a knowledge of its remarkable features has been spread abroad through the press, and Congress recognized its worth as an educational feature and made it a national park by the act approved May 22, 1902. As defined in the bill, the park is 'bounded north by the parallel forty-three degrees four minutes north latitude, south by forty-two degrees forty-eight minutes north latitude, east by the meridian one hundred and twenty-two degrees west longitude, and west by the meridian one hundred and twenty-two degrees sixteen minutes west longitude, having an area of two hundred and forty-nine square miles'. The Ashland sheet of United States Geological Survey, on the scale of 4 miles to 1 inch, includes the area lying between meridians 122 deg and 123 deg and parallels 42 deg and 43 deg. This map includes the region between Ashland and Crater Lake. On account of the great scientific interest of Crater Lake a special map, known as the Crater Lake special sheet, was prepared on the scale of 1 mile to an inch, including the country immediately adjacent to Crater Lake, between meridians 122 deg and 122 deg 15' and parallels 42 deg 50' and 43 deg 4'. From these two maps the accompanying map of the Crater Lake National Park (Pl. 1) has been prepared. The two papers published here refer practically to the whole region included in the National Park. The one, Part I, treats primarily of the geology, the development of the great volcano, Mount Mazama, and its collapse, which gave birth to Crater Lake; the other, Part II, deals with the petrography, and gives a special description of the various rocks occurring in the park. Origin of the name Mount Mazama - A great impetus to the spread of information concerning Crater Lake was given by the Mazamas of Portland, Oreg., who held a meeting at the lake in August, 1896, which attracted many visitors. The principal features in the history of the lake had previously been made out, and the Mazamas, recognizing the fact that the great peak which was nearly destroyed in preparing the pit for the lake had no name, gave it the name of their own society. Upon the rim of the lake are a number of small peaks, each having its own designation. The term Mount Mazama refers to the whole rim encircling the lake. It is but a mere remnant of the once lofty peak, the real Mount Mazama, which rose far into the region of eternal snow. To get a basis for reconstructing the original Mount Mazama it is necessary to study in detail the structure and composition of its foundation, now so attractively displayed in the encircling cliffs of Crater Lake.

Oregon↗