Llao is the god of the underworld in the mythology of the Klamath Native American tribe. Llao fought a great battle with the sky god, Skell, which caused the eruption of Mount Mazama, creating Crater Lake. Llao Rock is named for Llao.
The Klamath tell many stories of the powerful spirits Llao and Skell. [1] Llao was the spirit of the underworld who lived beneath Mount Mazama. Skell was the spirit of the sky "above-world". In the beginning, the stories say that Llao was able to pass through a hole and climb to the top of Mount Mazama where he could almost touch the stars where Skell lived. The followers of the spirits could reportedly take the form of animals such as deer, fox, and dove, and they would play together.
The story goes on to explain the origins of Crater Lake, known as giiwas in the Klamath language. [2] The Klamath stories say that quarrels began, and war broke out between Llao and Skell. One time Llao visited atop he saw Loha, the daughter of the Klamath Indian Chief, and fell in love with her. He became extremely angry when she rejected his hideous, underworld nature, and cursed the Klamath with fire that rained down on them. The Klamath turned to Skell for help. In response to the Klamath people's pleadings, Skell descended from the sky to the top of Mount Shasta. A furious battle ensued, Skell from Mount Shasta and Llao from Mount Mazama. The ferociousness of the fight led two medicine men to jump into the pit of the underworld as a sacrifice to appease the spirits. Inspired by their sacrifice, Skell fought harder and defeated Llao, driving him deep into the underworld. The story goes on to explain that Skell then covered the hole to the underworld with the top of Mount Mazama to imprison Llao forever. As a final act, Skell covered the remains of the dark pit with water to restore peace and tranquility to the land, which became Crater Lake. [1] [3]
Klamath myths include many stories of battle, including one where Llao kills Skell. In this story, Llao is able to defeat Skell in a battle to the death. However, when Llao's followers take Skell's heart up a mountain to celebrate, Skell's followers are able to steal back the heart and use it to restore Skell back to life. During the story of the "Last Great Battle", Llao is killed by Skell. Skell orders that Llao's body is to be cut up and thrown to the creatures of the lake. To trick the lake creatures loyal to Llao, Skell's followers claim the body parts are Skell's, so the creatures gobble them down. When Llao's head is thrown into the lake, the creatures recognize it and refuse to eat it. The story explains that Llao's head is now Wizard Island. [3]
The Klamath people are a Native American tribe of the Plateau culture area in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Today Klamath people are enrolled in the federally recognized tribes:
Mount Shasta is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. At an elevation of 14,179 ft (4,322 m), it is the second-highest peak in the Cascades and the fifth-highest in the state. Mount Shasta has an estimated volume of 85 cubic miles, which makes it the most voluminous stratovolcano in the Cascade Volcanic Arc. The mountain and surrounding area are part of the Shasta–Trinity National Forest.
Crater Lake is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the Western United States. It is the main feature of Crater Lake National Park and is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. The lake partly fills a 2,148-foot-deep (655 m) caldera that was formed around 7,700 years ago by the collapse of the volcano Mount Mazama. No rivers flow into or out of the lake; the evaporation is compensated for by rain and snowfall at a rate such that the total amount of water is replaced every 150 years. With a depth of 1,949 feet (594 m), the lake is the deepest in the United States. In the world, it ranks tenth for maximum depth, as well as third for mean (average) depth.
Crater Lake National Park is a national park of the United States located in southern Oregon. Established in 1902, Crater Lake is the fifth-oldest national park in the United States and the only national park in Oregon. The park encompasses the caldera of Crater Lake, a remnant of Mount Mazama, a destroyed volcano, and the surrounding hills and forests.
The Modoc are an Indigenous American people who historically lived in the area which is now northeastern California and central Southern Oregon. Currently, they include two federally recognized tribes, the Klamath Tribes in Oregon and the Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma, now known as the Modoc Nation.
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Mount Mazama is a complex volcano in the western U.S. state of Oregon, in a segment of the Cascade Volcanic Arc and Cascade Range. The volcano is in Klamath County, in the southern Cascades, 60 miles (97 km) north of the Oregon–California border. Its collapse, due to the eruption of magma emptying the underlying magma chamber, formed a caldera that holds Crater Lake. Mount Mazama originally had an elevation of 12,000 feet (3,700 m), but following its climactic eruption this was reduced to 8,157 feet (2,486 m). Crater Lake is 1,943 feet (592 m) deep, the deepest freshwater body in the U.S. and the second deepest in North America after Great Slave Lake in Canada.
Mount McLoughlin is a dormant steep-sided stratovolcano, or composite volcano, in the Cascade Range of southern Oregon and within the United States Sky Lakes Wilderness. It is one of the volcanic peaks in the Cascade Volcanic Arc, within the High Cascades sector. A prominent landmark for the Rogue River Valley, the mountain is north of Mount Shasta, and south-southeast of Crater Lake. It was named around 1838 after John McLoughlin, a Chief Factor for the Hudson's Bay Company. Mount McLouglin's prominence has made it a landmark to Native American populations for thousands of years.
The Fremont–Winema National Forest is a United States National Forest formed from the 2002 merger of the Fremont and Winema National Forests. They cover territory in southern Oregon from the crest of the Cascade Range on the west past the city of Lakeview to the east. The northern end of the forests is bounded by U.S. Route 97 on the west and Oregon Route 31 on the east. To the south, the state border with California forms the boundary of the forests. Klamath Falls is the only city of significant size in the vicinity. The forests are managed by the United States Forest Service, and the national forest headquarters are located in Lakeview.
Mount Scott is a small stratovolcano and a so-called parasitic cone on the southeast flank of Crater Lake in southern Oregon. It is approximately 420,000 years old. Its summit is the highest point within Crater Lake National Park, and the tenth highest peak in the Oregon Cascades. A small fire lookout tower stands on the summit, at the end of a trail that zigzags approximately 1,500 feet up the mountain. The mountain is named for Oregon pioneer Levi Scott, founder of Scottsburg, Oregon.
The Sky Lakes Wilderness is a wilderness area located in the Rogue River–Siskiyou and Fremont–Winema national forests in the southern Cascade Range of Oregon in the United States. It comprises 116,300 acres (47,100 ha), of which 75,695 acres (30,633 ha) are in the Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest and 40,605 acres (16,432 ha) are in the Fremont–Winema National Forest. It was established in 1984 under the Wilderness Act of 1964.
Crater Lake Lodge is a hotel built in 1915 to provide overnight accommodations for visitors to Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon, US. The lodge is located on the southwest rim of the Crater Lake caldera overlooking the lake 1,000 feet (300 m) below. The lodge is owned by the National Park Service, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. As of 2024, the hotel is a Historic Hotels of America program member, and has been so since 2012.
Rim Village is the main area for tourist services in Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon, United States. It is located on the southwest rim of the caldera overlooking Crater Lake. The National Park Service designed Rim Village to concentrate park services at a location that provided easy access to rim trails and view points. Because of the unique rustic architecture of the Rim Village structures and the surrounding park landscape, the area was listed as Rim Village Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.
Munson Valley Historic District is the headquarters and main support area for Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon. The National Park Service chose Munson Valley for the park headquarters because of its central location within the park. Because of the unique rustic architecture of the Munson Valley buildings and the surrounding park landscape, the area was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1988. The district has eighteen contributing buildings, including the Crater Lake Superintendent's Residence which is a U.S. National Historic Landmark and separately listed on the NRHP. The district's NRHP listing was decreased in area in 1997.
Rim Drive is a scenic highway in Crater Lake National Park in southern Oregon, United States. It is a 33-mile (53 km) loop that follows the caldera rim around Crater Lake. Due to its unique engineering and the surrounding park landscape, the drive was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.
California's Mount Shasta has been the subject of a large number of myths and legends. In particular, it is often said there is a secret city beneath its peaks. In some stories, the city is no longer inhabited, while in others, it is inhabited by a technologically advanced society of human beings or mythical creatures.
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