Crater Lake National Park - Furry Guards

On a warm, sunny slope, a colony of yellow-bellied marmots goes about its routine. Familiar animals in the mountains of the West, these large members of the squirrel family average about eight pounds in weight and a foot or more in length. But their chunky size does not save them from being prey to foxes, martens, and golden eagles. Alert to this fact of life, marmots seem eternally vigilant. Never trusting to chance, they post sentinels instead.

Typically, marmots serving as guards rest on rocks high enough to afford a good view, while others forage for grasses and more succulent plants. Those not working lie lazily in the sun, and several youngsters romp playfully near the entrance to a burrow, squeaking and squealing as they chase one another.

Suddenly a guard sits up for a better look at a movement it has seen in the trees, the shape of a minklike marten moving along a branch. Hesitating only an instant, the guard lets out a loud, shrill squeak. Within seconds every marmot in the colony has either disappeared into its burrow or is stationed at the entrance, ready to dive in. Then, for some unknown reason, the marten changes its mind and moves off. Gradually, the marmots emerge from their burrows and resume their activities.

The eye of eternity
Overhead, a fleet of large, puffy clouds moves across the summer sky. Breezes riffle the water, and the rim's tall peaks become shrouded in mist. Within an hour, a rumble of thunder reverberates from behind Mount Scott, the highest in the park. Suddenly the atmosphere is cold, damp, and most unfriendly. Before long, a veil of moisture begins to fall. The ground becomes soggy, and the only sounds are a steady plop, plop, plop. The rain seems settled in.

Toward late afternoon the rain tapers off to a drizzle and then stops. As the mist clears, the rim gradually reappears and the lake again becomes its usual sparkling blue, mirroring the color of the sky.

As with other lakes, when light enters the water, its rays are separated into the colors of the rainbow. All but blue are absorbed and lost from view. The deeper the lake, the purer the color, and with a depth of almost 2,000 feet, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and the seventh deepest in the world. In addition, the purer a lake, the bluer it is. Crater Lake is a self-contained bowl of rainwater, snowmelt, and nothing else. No water that might bring impurities flows in, and very little seeps out.

The crystal-clear water is so pure that sunlight can penetrate to great depths, with astonishing results. Moss grows 425 feet below the surface, probably a world record. Fisherman can watch their lures flash through deep water and are occasionally lucky enough to see a trout or a salmon strike at their lines. On very calm days, it is even possible to watch the bottom of the lake drop away from beneath your tour boat. In an instant you are suspended over the edge of an abyss, staring into the eye of eternity.

As twilight deepens, a last golden ray of sunlight touches Mount Scott and slowly fades into powder blue as the sun slips below the horizon. Soon nothing is visible except the jagged horizon and the dim reflection of the lake far below. A few stars appear, and then more. An owl hoots, perhaps well over a mile away, but the sound carries in the chill of night.