Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway Blue Crater Lake and its organisms

Clark's Nutcracker off the Internet

Phantom Ship (named for the fact they think it was another volcano swallowed by Mazama

We are traveling through part of what they call the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway. Why is Crater Lake so blue?  Because its waters are so clear and clean and because it is so deep. If there was a lot of organic matter and pollution in the lake, sunlight could not penetrate its depths.  Long wavelengths of the spectrum are absorbed, blue is scattered and reflected back to our eyes, the spectrum is deep blue at 100-150 ft., light blue to green at 50-100ft. There is life even at the greatest depths, thermophile bacteria that feed on iron and fly midge larvae that live at the greatest depths and float and swim up to the surface every 2-3 years, metamorphosis to mate and die within 2-3 days. The only plants are dense mats of aquatic moss and the animals include the unique species the Crater Lake Newt, introduced crayfish and Rainbow Trout and Kokanee Salmon and other invertebrates. The biologists wish to get rid of the introduced species like the crayfish and fish because they have learned they out-compete and feed on the native newt so if you can walk down to Cleetwood Cove Trail you can fish without a license and take all you want home. But the trail is 2.2 miles, over 400 feet down to the caldron and too strenuous hike up for most people.  You have to be able to walk down and up the trail to get to the boats for the lake tour.

The closest symbiotic relationship is between the Clark's Nutcracker and the Whitebark Pine.  The Whitebark Pine is the only tree that can withstand the extreme temperatures and wind at the highest elevations.  It snows 500 inches on the average, but last year they only had 250 inches (climate change). The tree protects the other species that grow under it and is food for the Nutcracker. Yes, the Nutcracker cracks the hard cone, digs out the seeds with its hard beak and then buries the seeds. The Nutcracker doesn't always find all the seeds in the winter, so some seeds will sprout into new baby Whitebark Pine.  But the tree has to be 100 years old before it starts to reproduce and this is the sad part.  The Whitebark Pine is dieing out due to a fungus which was introduced from Europe so many of the plant and animal species that depend on it have the same fate. The scientists do find some Whitebark pine that are naturally immune and they are harvesting seeds from them and growing seedlings. Maybe enough will survive.

Whitebark Pine

I have one really nice photo of the Pumice Castle, but for some reason it has not loaded??? So here is another one off the Internet.  The next blogg is for David, Doug because they like machines, Ben because he likes horses and Toby because he likes history.  If anyone knows why my photos aren't loading let me know through email, ecoscotty@yahoo.com, or if you know an easy way to load them into my computer then I can use My Pictures but I haven't figured out an easy way to do it yet.

Pumice Castle