Editing Crater Lake National Park (section)

==History==
{{stack|
[[File:Aerial Crater Lake (cropped).jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Crater Lake.]]
[[File:Crater Lake Lodge Rim Village Historic District.jpg|thumb|[[Crater Lake Lodge]].]]
}}
Local [[Native American in the United States|Native American]]s witnessed the collapse of Mount Mazama and kept the event alive in their [[legend]]s. One ancient legend of the [[Klamath people]] closely parallels the geologic story which emerges from today's scientific research. The legend tells of two Chiefs, [[Llao]] of the Below World and [[Skell]] of the Above World, pitted in a battle which ended up in the destruction of Llao's home, Mt. Mazama.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.nps.gov/archive/crla/New%20Folder/crlacr.htm | title = Park History | publisher = National Park Service | access-date=October 18, 2010}}</ref> The battle was witnessed in the eruption of Mt. Mazama and the creation of Crater Lake.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

A trio of [[gold]] prospectors—[[John Wesley Hillman]], Henry Klippel, and Isaac Skeeters—were the first American prospectors to visit the lake. On June 12, 1853, they stumbled upon the long, sloping mountain while hunting for provisions. Stunned by the vibrant blue color of the lake, they named the [[indigo]] body of water "Deep Blue Lake" and the place on the southwest side of the rim where he first saw the lake later became known as Discovery Point.<ref name="nps"/>  Gold, however, was more on the minds of settlers at the time, and the discovery was soon forgotten. The suggested name later fell out of favor by locals, who preferred the name "Crater Lake".{{fact|date=April 2025}}

[[William Gladstone Steel]] devoted his life and fortune to the establishment and management of a national park at Crater Lake. His preoccupation with the lake began in 1870. In his efforts to bring recognition to the park, he participated in lake surveys that provided scientific support. He named many of the lake's landmarks, including [[Wizard Island]], Llao Rock, and Skell Head.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

With the help of geologist Clarence Dutton, Steel organized a USGS expedition to study the lake in 1886. The party carried the ''Cleetwood'', a half-ton survey boat, up the steep slopes of the mountain then lowered it to the lake. From the stern of the ''Cleetwood'', a piece of pipe on the end of a spool of [[piano wire]] sounded the depth of the lake at 168 different points.  Their deepest sounding, {{convert|1996|ft}}, was very close to the modern official depth of {{convert|1949|ft}} made in 2000 by [[sonar]].<ref name="deepest"/>  At the same time, a [[topography|topographer]] surveyed the area and created the first professional [[map]] of the Crater Lake area.{{fact|date=April 2025}}

{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle        = Crater Lake National Park
| othershorttitles  =
| longtitle         = An Act reserving from the public lands in the State of Oregon, as a public park for the benefit of the people of the United States, and for the protection and preservation of the game, fish, timber, and all other natural objects therein, a tract of land herein described, and so forth.
| colloquialacronym = 
| nickname          = 
| enacted by        = 57th
| announced in      = 
| effective date    = May 22, 1902
| public law url    = 
| cite public law   = {{uspl|57|121}}
| cite statutes at large = {{usstat|32|202}}
| acts amended    = 
| acts repealed   = 
| title amended   = [[Title 16 of the United States Code|Title 16—Conservation]]
| sections created = {{usc|16|121|123}}
| leghisturl      = 
| introducedin    = House
| introducedbill  = H.R. 4393
| introducedby    = [[Thomas H. Tongue]] ([[Republican Party (United States)|R]]–[[Oregon|OR]])
| introduceddate  = December 10, 1901
| committees      = [[United States House Committee on Natural Resources|House Public Lands]]
| passedbody1     = House
| passeddate1     = April 19, 1902
| passedvote1     = [[unanimous consent]]
| passedbody2     = Senate
| passeddate2     = May 9, 1902
| passedvote2     = unanimous consent
| signedpresident = [[Theodore Roosevelt]]
| signeddate      = May 22, 1902
}}
Partly based on data from the expedition and lobbying from Steel and others, Crater Lake National Park was established May 22, 1902, by President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref name=ea>{{Cite Americana|wstitle=Crater Lake National Park}}</ref> And because of Steel's involvement, [[Crater Lake Lodge]] was opened in 1915 and the Rim Drive was completed in 1918.<ref name="nps" />

[[Highway]]s were later built to the park to help facilitate tourism. The 1929 edition of ''[[O Ranger!]]'' described access and facilities available by then:
<blockquote>Crater Lake National Park is reached by train on the Southern Pacific Railroad lines into Medford and Klamath Falls, at which stops motor stages make the short trip to the park. A hotel on the rim of the lake offers accommodations. For the motorist, the visit to the park is a short side trip from the [[Pacific Highway (United States)|Pacific]] and [[The Dalles-California Highway|Dalles-California]] highways. He will find, in addition to the hotel, campsites, stores, filling stations. The park is open to travel from late June or July 1 for as long as snow does not block the roads, generally until October.<ref>{{cite book | first1 = Horace M. | last1 = Albright | first2 = Frank J. | last2 = Taylor | title = Oh, Ranger! | others = illustrated by Ruth Taylor White | publisher = The Chatham Press, Inc. | location = Riverside, Connecticut | edition = Centennial | url = http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/albright3/ | chapter-url = http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/albright3/chap13a.htm | access-date = August 18, 2006 | date = September 6, 2004 | chapter = Glimpses of the National Parks and Monuments | orig-year = 1928 }}</ref></blockquote>