"Winter Panoramic" by National Park Service , public domain
![]() | Crater LakeTrees |
Brochure about Trees at Crater Lake National Park (NP) in Oregon. Published by the National Park Service (NPS).
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covered parks
Crater Lake
National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Crater Lake National Park
Trees
Crater Lake National Park was established in 1902,
before commercial logging reached the High Cascades. Because of this, Crater Lake National Park's
forests are almost entirely old growth forest ecosystems. However, the short growing season and
low-nutrient volcanic soils do not sustain extremely
large trees. Few trees get over 150 feet (46 meters)
in height, and most have diameters under 4 feet (1.2
meters).
Forest Zones
Park forests are composed mostly of conifers,
although a few hardwood species can be found.
There are four major forest zones at Crater Lake
National Park, each named after its dominant tree
species.
referred to as “dog’s hair forest” because of the
dense, scraggly stands of thin lodgepoles, this zone
covers vast areas.
Starting in the park’s lower elevations (about 4,500
feet or 1,370 meters), ponderosa pine forest is the
first zone seen by visitors who enter on Highway 62
from the south or west entrances.
Pines
Lodgepole pine
Hemlocks
Mountain hemlock
Mountain hemlocks become dominant at about
6,000 feet (1,830 meters). This zone has the final tall
trees in the park and has limited underbrush.
The ponderosa zone gives way to lodgepole pine
forest at about 5,000 feet (1,520 meters). Sometimes
The next zone is almost purely whitebark pines and
extends from about 7,500 feet (2,290 meters) to the
top of Mt. Scott, the highest point in the park
(8,929 feet or 2,721 meters). The whitebark pine
zone is more an open woodland than a forest.
Pines (genus Pinus) comprise the largest genus in
the family Pinaceae. An easy way to identify a pine
is by the needles, which grow in characteristic
“bundles.” The number of needles per bundle
often helps determine a pine’s species.
out the lodgepole pine zone. Although the western
white is more common, its bundles of five needles
make it easy to confuse with the sugar pine; smaller
cones on the western white is the most noticeable
difference between the two.
Whitebark pine (P. albicaulus) is found at higher
elevations in the park, particularly on rocky crests.
Tolerating the most severe of conditions, whitebark
pines are often gnarled and twisted, sometimes
appearing more as thick shrubs than trees. An
almost pure stand of these trees is found around
Cloudcap pullout on East Rim Drive.
Sugar pine (P. lambertiana) is interspersed among
ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine and Douglas-fir
stands in lower park elevations. It is a relatively
uncommon tree and has very large cones that
average over a foot long, which can make this an
easy tree to identify. Sugar pines are the tallest of all
pines, and sometimes exceed 200 feet (60 meters).
Lodgepole pine (P. contorta) grows in dense
stands of very thin trees in the park’s middle elevations. However, lodgepoles mingle in other forest
zones throughout the park. Lodgepole pine is the
park’s only pine with bundles of two needles.
Ponderosa pine (P. ponderosa) is a droughttolerant tree with striking orange bark when mature. Even before maturity, its long needles growing
in bundles of three distinguish it from other local
species. Southern Cascade ponderosas also have a
strong vanilla-like aroma in their bark that is usually associated with their close relative, the Jeffrey
pine (P. jeffreyi, not found in the park).
Western white pine (P. monticola) is fairly common at middle elevations, found scattered through-
Hemlocks (genus Tsuga), also in the family
Pinaceae, are typically characterized by their tops,
or leaders. The leader of a hemlock droops down,
often aiming back down at the ground. There are
two hemlock species in Crater Lake National Park.
Mountain hemlock (T. mertensiana) is easily
observable around the park headquarters area and
ranges up to some of the park’s higher altitudes.
With thin branches and small needles, this tree is
well-adapted to the heavy snows it is subjected to.
Western hemlock (T. hetero-phylla) is more
common in the state of Oregon than the mountain
hemlock. However, at Crater Lake it is only found
in the far southwestern corner of the park, which
has an altitude just on the upper edge of its range.
Western hemlocks have much smaller cones than
the mountain hemlocks.
Firs
Firs (genus Abies) are represented by five separate
species at Crater Lake, although one species, the
Pacific silver fir (A. amabilis), has only one known
specimen inside park boundaries. Members of the
pine family (Pinaceae), firs have stemless needles
that leave small circular indentations when pulled
from the branch. Whole fir cones are rarely found
around the tree because they fall apart after maturing.
Shasta red fir (A. magnifica shastensis), a variation of the Sierran species (A. magnifica), is an
abundant tree throughout the mountain hemlock
zone. A deep reddish-brown bark gives this tree its
common name. Its short needles (most less than
one inch or 2.5 cm long) curve to point straight up
from the branch, giving the foliage a bristly appearance. It can easily be found around Park Headquarters and Rim Village.
Shasta red fir profile
Noble fir (A. procera) is only found in the north-
Other Conifers
Other conifers of Crater Lake National Park each
have only one species representing their genus at
the park.
Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) is found
along streams in all canyons of the park. An accessible example is the small stand just northeast of
Whitehorse Creek along the west entrance road. A
typical spruce has stiff, sharp needles that grow
straight out from all sides of the tree’s needlebearing branches.
Douglas-fir
Hardwoods
Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Oregon’s
state tree, is a common tree on the lower western
slope near the park’s boundary. Not a true fir at all,
Hardwoods (non-conifers) also have several different species within the park. The six best-documented species are listed here.
Sitka alder (Alnus sinuata), a member of the birch
family (Betulaceae), is abundant in wet places at
middle elevations, and is found both inside and
outside the caldera.
Thinleaf alder (Alnus incana), also known as
“mountain alder,” is the dominant species along
streams in lower elevations.
Pacific willow (Salix lasiandra abramsii), in the
family Salicaceae, is found in wet zones at lower
elevations. Many different types of willows exist
along park streambeds as shrubs. Lower Annie
Creek has examples large enough to be considered
trees.
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ernmost part of the park. However, its similarities
and occasional hybridizing with the Shasta red
make the two extremely difficult to distinguish from
each other.
Subalpine fir (A. lasiocarpa) is a moisture-loving
tree found in canyons, along streambeds, and at the
margins of boggy areas. It is a common tree in the
lodgepole and hemlock forest zones in the park,
particularly on the moister western slopes. Subalpine firs have very narrow, spire-like profiles and
branches that grow down around their base, seldom leaving any trunk exposed.
White fir (A. concolor) is found at lower park
elevations mixed in the ponderosa zone, particularly in the southern part of the park bordering the
Klamath Basin. Its name comes from the whitish
underside of its needles. Arrangement, color and
length of needles (up to 3 inches or 7.5 cm) distinguish the white fir from others of its genus.
the Douglas-fir was classified under many different
Latin names before it was given its current genus,
which means “false-hemlock.” Further west and
down slope from the park’s western boundary,
Douglas-fir becomes the dominant tree in the
western part of Oregon.
Incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens) associates
with ponderosa pines near the south entrance and
occurs irregularly in western and southern parts of
the park. This tree has scale-like leaves that hug
tightly to the twig, and has reddish bark, similar in
color and texture to that of a redwood. The incense cedar is in the cypress family, Cupressaceae.
Quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides), known for
its gray-green leaves that shimmer with the slightest
breeze, is found in the south entrance area, in
Annie Creek, and in Sun Creek. Populus trees are
also members of the willow family.
Black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) is found
near the south entrance. A moisture-loving tree like
its close relative, the quaking aspen, cottonwoods
can also be found along Crater Lake’s western
shore.
Oregon white oak (Quercus garryana), in the
beech family (Fagaceae), is found in dry openings
among the firs in Red Blanket Creek Canyon.
R e v. 9/2001 klb