Saturday, August 31, 2019

Phantom Ship (Crater Lake National Park, Oregon)


It's been a few years since I've visited the magnificent flooded volcanic crater known as Crater Lake in southwestern Oregon, but on road trip to Bend, it seemed like the perfect diversion. I had originally planned to do a couple of hikes, but with one trail closed and the other trail overwhelmingly crowded, I opted to forego those hikes and just focus on the views. One of the most amazing of which is the overlook for the Phantom Ship.

Crater Lake has two islands within it, the larger Wizard Island on the western side of the lake is a newer, smaller volcanic cone growing from the crater and the Phantom Ship, which is simply a rock outcropping that was high enough to rise above the crater's flood waters. The interesting and photo-worthy characteristic of phantom island is it's uncanny resemblance to an ancient sailing ship. Large spires of stone reach out from the unworldly blue waters of the lake to resemble the masts of those great vessels. With the steep crater walls surrounding it, the tiny island very much resembles some kind of haunted boat from a bygone era. It's quite striking.

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