Wizard Island is a volcanic cinder cone that forms an island on the west end of Crater Lake in Oregon’s Crater Lake National Park. It was formed when Mount Mazama erupted violently over 7000 years ago—its summit was replaced with a caldera that today is filled by Crater Lake.

At its deepest point, the crater sinks almost 2000 feet down to the bottom of the caldera, making it the deepest lake in the United States. Its depth and lack of nutrients make it and Waldo Lake, just to the North, two of the clearest lakes in the world.

Crater Lake is known for its beautiful deep blue tint, and just about any image you look at shows the lake in vivid color. On this cloudy day in early June, however, I thought the texture of the clouds and the still snow-capped peaks were best viewed in black and white.

Click the image below to see a larger version. Check out my fine art image gallery to see more naturescape photographs like this!