Crater Lake
Ecosystems Paper
SCI/256
Marcus Gittins
September 6, 2014
Stacy Murphy
Carter Lake is a stunningly scenic lake located in Oregon United States. It occupies 183,224 acres as a national park the lake itself covers a 21 square mile area and is 594 meters deep. It has wide marine flora and fauna diversity. Around the lake unusual plant species are also found such as botrychium pumicola, mosses, western anemones, dozen types of cone bearing species of trees, shrubs like mountain ash and others. There are many types of different vegetation as you walk around Carter Lake National Park.
There are various processes that you can notice in and out of this body of water.
The lake is greatly affected by the cool summers and moist winters with snowfall. This is how Carter Lake gets its depth to fluxgate up and down since there are no streams or rivers to supply it. The perception, and melting snow form off the mountain surrounding it and also the island with in the lake. Only thirty percent of the lake is lost to the evaporation the rest is through feeding the plants water, but most of the change comes with glacial materials and volcanic agglomerates. The types of vegetation around and found inside the lake are also very interesting being able to live in conditions where you wouldn’t find most things. For example since the water clarity is so well it enables moss like the Depanocladus adunous grow at depths of 60 to 425 feet this can be found nowhere else is a lake. It is also interesting how the lake was formed after the volcano collapse to create the condition to have a lake it took about 800 years to reach the depth that is currently is at, but looking back climate indicates that it really could have taken more like 2,500 years to reach the present depth.
Around the lake and inside the lake you will find things that you would not find around a normal lake like Lake Tahoe one example is a mite known as the Algaphogopsis this is a mite
SCI/256
Marcus Gittins
September 6, 2014
Stacy Murphy
Carter Lake is a stunningly scenic lake located in Oregon United States. It occupies 183,224 acres as a national park the lake itself covers a 21 square mile area and is 594 meters deep. It has wide marine flora and fauna diversity. Around the lake unusual plant species are also found such as botrychium pumicola, mosses, western anemones, dozen types of cone bearing species of trees, shrubs like mountain ash and others. There are many types of different vegetation as you walk around Carter Lake National Park.
There are various processes that you can notice in and out of this body of water.
The lake is greatly affected by the cool summers and moist winters with snowfall. This is how Carter Lake gets its depth to fluxgate up and down since there are no streams or rivers to supply it. The perception, and melting snow form off the mountain surrounding it and also the island with in the lake. Only thirty percent of the lake is lost to the evaporation the rest is through feeding the plants water, but most of the change comes with glacial materials and volcanic agglomerates. The types of vegetation around and found inside the lake are also very interesting being able to live in conditions where you wouldn’t find most things. For example since the water clarity is so well it enables moss like the Depanocladus adunous grow at depths of 60 to 425 feet this can be found nowhere else is a lake. It is also interesting how the lake was formed after the volcano collapse to create the condition to have a lake it took about 800 years to reach the depth that is currently is at, but looking back climate indicates that it really could have taken more like 2,500 years to reach the present depth.
Around the lake and inside the lake you will find things that you would not find around a normal lake like Lake Tahoe one example is a mite known as the Algaphogopsis this is a mite
References: 1. http://www.craterlakeinstitute.com/natural-history/index-ecology.htm 2. http://www.craterlakeinstitute.com/natural-history/ecology-aquatic-ecosystems.htm 3. http://oe.oregonexplorer.info/craterlake/life.html 4. http://www.nps.gov/noca/naturescience/naturalfeaturesandecosystems.htm