Crater Lake in southwest Oregon

Crater Lake in southwest Oregon Today’s Image of the Day comes thanks to the NASA Earth Observatory and features a look at Crater Lake in southwest Oregon.

Crater Lake sits nestled in the Cascade Mountains, where even in late June, snow still covers the surrounding peaks. Located in the lake is a cinder cone volcano named Wizard Island.

The lake is actually the surface expression of a caldera of a volcano that exploded in a dramatic eruption 6,000 to 8,000 years ago.

This image was captured by an astronaut on board the International Space Station.Oregon has been home to many indigenous nations for thousands of years. The first European traders, explorers, and settlers began exploring what is now Oregon’s Pacific coast in the early-mid 1500s. As early as 1565, the Spanish began sending vessels northeast from the Philippines, riding the Kuroshio Current in a sweeping circular route across the northern part of the Pacific. In 1592, Juan de Fuca undertook detailed mapping and studies of ocean currents in the Pacific Northwest, including the Oregon coast as well as the strait now bearing his name. Spanish ships – 250 in as many years – would typically not land before reaching Cape Mendocino in California, but some landed or wrecked in what is now Oregon. Nehalem tales recount strangers and the discovery of items like chunks of beeswax and a lidded silver vase, likely connected to the 1707 wreck of the San Francisco Xavier

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By Rory Arnold, Earth.com Staff Writer

Source: NASA Earth Observatory