Man Survives 800-Foot Fall into Crater Lake Caldera

On Monday afternoon, a man was rescued after he fell 800 feet down into the Crater Lake caldera. The District 3 Technical Rope Rescue Team was first on the scene, but after lowering down 600 feet, they still couldn’t reach the man. Crater Lake National Park Service rangers then requested helicopter assistance. The U.S. Coast Guard Sector North Bend arrived and was able to hoist the man out of the caldera and transfer him to a medical helicopter.

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The injured man was taken to a nearby hospital, and his condition is unknown at this time.

Crater Lake is 1,943 feet deep, making it the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world. The lake was formed after Mount Mazama erupted violently and then collapsed, which created a caldera. Over time, the caldera has filled with rain and snowmelt to become the pristine lake we see today. Crater Lake National Park is a popular tourist destination and had over 700,000 visitors in 2018.