Vanished Volcano Viewpoint - Oregon - Scenic Roadside Look-Outs on Waymarking.com

Viewpoint on westbound side of Ore. Hwy. 62 looking north toward the site of ancient Mt. Mazama which collapsed during an eruption 7700 years ago to form Crater Lake. There is an interpretive sign titled Vanished Volcano at the viewpoint.



2009 Sign Text: For thousands of centuries the landscape in front of you was dominated by a massive and explosive volcano called Mt. Mazama. Like today’s major Cascade stratovolcanoes, it slept for long intervals under a mantle of ice and snow, periodically bursting into activity.
About 7,700 years ago a series of dramatic eruptions shook Mt. Mazama. Rocks and ash exploded into the air and fell hundreds of miles away. Avalanches of glowing-hot rocks poured from the volcano, creating the flat valley you are standing on. Then, the top of Mt. Mazama collapsed, leaving behind a 6-mile wide (10 km) caldera.
Today the base of Mt. Mazama contains the deepest lake in the United States -- Crater Lake. You are now standing at about the same elevation as the lake bottom, more than 1,900 feet (580 m) below the water’s surface.
Just ahead 3 1/2 miles (5.6 km) lies the south entrance to Crater Lake National Park which preserves the magnificent legacy of Mt. Mazama for all to enjoy.

2013 NEW and UPDATED Marker and Text:
From here you can see the truncated peaks of an enormous volcano that stood about 12,000 feet, towering over the landscape. Formed slowly over half a million years, the destruction of Mount Mazama took only days. Its climactic eruption 7,700 years ago began with a blast of rock and ash blown into the stratosphere. New vents encircling the peak brought hot flows of pumice, ash, and gas down its flanks burying the landscape, creating this flat valley. So much of the magma chamber was drained, the volcano had no support. It fell in a massive collapse, creating the basin that would hold Crater Lake. You are standing at about the same elevation as the bottom of Crater Lake.