{"id":1466,"date":"2023-02-26T09:52:33","date_gmt":"2023-02-26T08:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lakebeyond.com\/?p=1466"},"modified":"2023-02-26T09:52:33","modified_gmt":"2023-02-26T08:52:33","slug":"was-crater-lake-formed-by-a-meteor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lakebeyond.com\/was-crater-lake-formed-by-a-meteor\/","title":{"rendered":"Was crater lake formed by a meteor?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Did you know that the stunning blue waters of Crater Lake in Oregon were most likely formed by a meteor? Contrary to popular belief, the lake is not actually a crater. Rather, it is a caldera, which is a large, circular basin that forms when a volcano collapses in on itself. The caldera was formed about 7,700 years ago when the12,000-foot Mount Mazama erupted and then caved in. Geologists believe that a giant meteor impact could have caused the same effect.<\/p>\n

No, Crater Lake was not formed by a meteor.<\/p>\n

How were Crater Lakes formed? <\/h2>\n

Calderas are large, bowl-shaped depressions that form following the eruption of a large volcano. They are formed when molten rock called lava, with a lot of pressure, blows off the surface of an extinct volcano. Instead of forming a volcanic cone, the lava with ashes blows further away from the vent forming a large basin, surrounded by a realm of harsh, rock debris and lava.<\/p>\n

The size of the asteroid that produced the Chelyabinsk meteor impact is uncertain—likely in the range of 100 to 170 feet (30 to 50 meters) across—but it had to be large enough to excavate 175 million metric tons of rock. The wide perspective pictured above gives a sense of the crater in context with the surrounding area.<\/p>\n

Which lake was created by a meteor hitting the Earth <\/h3>\n