Crater Lake

Crater Lake: The Story of Its Origin invites readers to witness the transformative forces that shape Earth’s landscapes. In this vivid account of Crater Lake’s volcanic history, the book explores how valleys, mountains, and rivers, often perceived as timeless, are instead dynamic entities reshaped by the continuous interplay of geologic forces—frost, wind, rain, and even the crashing waves of the sea. Readers are guided to shed the illusion of permanence and consider how every storm, landslide, and river flood subtly sculpts the terrain before our eyes.

Delving deep into the geological lessons embedded in the landscape around Crater Lake, the book reveals that even the most stable-seeming features of our world are fleeting. From ancient sea fossils in mountain rocks to traces of prehistoric glaciers on Crater Lake’s slopes, this account emphasizes that land and sea are forever exchanging, regenerating, and transforming. Echoing Darwin’s words on Earth's instability, Crater Lake underscores the profound cycles of life, land, and sea, inspiring readers to appreciate the impermanence and beauty of our ever-changing Earth.

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press's mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1972.