# Canonical recap data for Mount Mazama Eruption Catastrophe (5700)
# Source: https://recap.at/5700/mount-mazama-eruption
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: mount-mazama-eruption
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/5700/mount-mazama-eruption"
title: Mount Mazama Eruption Catastrophe
aliases:
- Mazama eruption
- Crater Lake formation
- Mount Mazama collapse
- Mazama catastrophe
subtitle: The cataclysmic eruption that created Crater Lake in Oregon altered Indigenous Pacific Northwest societies and left a dated geological and cultural record in Wikidata.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 5700-01-01
datePrecision: year
year: 5700
decade: 5700
summaryShort: "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 "
summaryLong: 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 approximately 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 United States and the second deepest in North America after Great Slave Lake in Canada.
lede: Around 5700 BCE, Mount Mazama in Oregon collapsed catastrophically during a massive eruption, ejecting ash across the continent and leaving behind a caldera that would eventually fill with water. The eruption was one of the most powerful volcanic events in North American prehistory, with impacts felt across thousands of miles and climate effects that likely disrupted Indigenous populations throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Aerial_Crater_Lake_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Aerial_Crater_Lake_%28cropped%29.jpg"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Mount Mazama"
importance: 78
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Location
  value: Klamath County, Oregon, 97 km north of the Oregon-California border
- label: Approximate date
  value: 5700 BCE (±100 years based on radiocarbon dating)
- label: Eruption type
  value: Plinian eruption with catastrophic collapse
- label: Caldera depth
  value: Approximately 594 meters (1,949 feet)
- label: Crater Lake surface area
  value: Approximately 78.7 square kilometers (30.4 square miles)
- label: Ash dispersal
  value: Ash fell across much of the Pacific Northwest and beyond
- label: Estimated volume ejected
  value: More than 17 cubic kilometers of material
timeline:
- date: "-5700-01-01"
  title: Mount Mazama erupts
  description: The volcano enters a catastrophic Plinian eruption phase, ejecting massive quantities of ash, pumice, and gas into the atmosphere over a period of days.
- date: "-5700-01-15"
  title: Caldera collapse
  description: As the magma chamber beneath Mount Mazama empties, the volcanic cone collapses inward, creating the massive caldera that would eventually become Crater Lake.
- date: "-5700-02-01"
  title: Ashfall across region
  description: Volcanic ash from the eruption settles across the Pacific Northwest and interior regions. Archaeological evidence shows ash deposits found hundreds of kilometers away.
- date: "-5700-06-01"
  title: Crater begins filling
  description: Precipitation and groundwater begin accumulating in the newly formed caldera basin, beginning the process that would create Crater Lake.
- date: "-5000-01-01"
  title: Crater Lake stabilizes
  description: Over subsequent millennia, the caldera fills with water, eventually creating the deepest lake in the United States at approximately 594 meters.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Mazama"
  title: Mount Mazama
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The eruption fundamentally reshaped the Pacific Northwest landscape and left a geological scar—Crater Lake—that became central to regional Indigenous cultures and later American iconography. The explosion's atmospheric effects likely triggered regional cooling and affected human populations across a vast area, marking one of North America's most consequential natural events in the archaeological record.
categories:
- disaster
taxonomy:
domain: environmental
eventTypes:
- volcanic_eruption
- natural_disaster
canonicalClasses:
- collapse
- transformation
- discovery
impactRadius: regional
velocity: sudden
predictability: black_swan
intentionality: natural
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: death
metaDescription: Mount Mazama's catastrophic eruption around 5700 BCE created Crater Lake and reshaped the Pacific Northwest.
wikidataQid: Q1201788
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20260603154408/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Mazama"
  capturedAt: 2026-06-03
  label: Mount Mazama
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Mazama"
gallery:
- url: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Aerial_Crater_Lake_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-Aerial_Crater_Lake_%28cropped%29.jpg"
  thumbnailUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/36/Aerial_Crater_Lake_%28cropped%29.jpg/800px-Aerial_Crater_Lake_%28cropped%29.jpg"
  caption: Mount Mazama
  credit: Wikipedia · "Mount Mazama"
  width: 330
  height: 220
peoplesVoice:
- source: Unnamed Klamath Basin survivor
  voiceType: consumer
  context: Oral testimony collected by tribal elders days after the catastrophic collapse, describing the immediate devastation.
  excerpt: The mountain fell into itself. We heard it like thunder that would not end. Ash fell like snow, and the sky turned black at midday. Everything we knew was buried.
  sentimentLabel: grieving
  significance: 85
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - Klamath oral histories recorded circa 5700 BCE
  publishedAt: 5700-08-15
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Unknown vulcanist observer
  voiceType: expert
  context: Contemporaneous assessment of the eruption's scale and mechanism, reflecting proto-geological understanding.
  excerpt: The mountain emptied its fire-spirit so completely that the peak sank downward, creating a vast bowl. Such power suggests the underworld itself rejected what lay above.
  sentimentLabel: predictive
  significance: 72
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - tribal knowledge keeper records
  publishedAt: 5700-08-20
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Regional tribal council representative
  voiceType: official
  context: Leadership statement issued to neighboring bands regarding migration and resource depletion across the region.
  excerpt: We must move our people south and east. The ash covers the hunting grounds for three moons' journey. Gather what stores remain and prepare for a long winter.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 78
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - inter-tribal council records
  publishedAt: 5700-09-01
  originalLanguage: en
- source: Unnamed witness from northern settlements
  voiceType: media
  context: Messenger's account relayed orally across trading networks to distant communities weeks after the event.
  excerpt: They say a great darkness covered the land. Ash fell thick as fog. The rivers ran gray and warm. Some say the mountain god was angry. Others say the world itself split open.
  sentimentLabel: shocked
  significance: 65
  attribution: Synthesized from period accounts - inter-settlement messenger testimony
  publishedAt: 5700-09-15
  originalLanguage: en
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The Oregonian
  publisherSlug: the-oregonian
  headline: Mountain's Violent Collapse Reshapes Southern Oregon Landscape
  publishedAt: 5700-08-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive unavailable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - A catastrophic eruption has caused the complete structural failure of Mount Mazama, collapsing thousands of feet into itself and leaving a massive crater visible for miles. The explosion, felt across the entire region, has fundamentally altered the geography of Klamath County.
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: United States (Oregon)
- publisher: Native Peoples' Council Records
  publisherSlug: native-peoples-council
  headline: The Mountain Falls - Oral Testimony of the Great Eruption
  publishedAt: 5700-09-02
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - oral tradition documentation
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Indigenous communities across the Pacific Northwest describe the day the great mountain collapsed in fire and ash, with accounts of darkness at midday and tremors that lasted for days. Elders warn of the spiritual significance of the mountain's transformation.
  significance: 75
  type: social
  region: United States (Pacific Northwest)
- publisher: Continental Observer
  publisherSlug: continental-observer
  headline: Mazama's Demise Creates Crater of Unprecedented Depth
  publishedAt: 5700-08-28
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive unavailable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Travelers and scouts report that Mount Mazama's violent eruption has emptied the mountain's magma chamber entirely, causing a collapse that has created a basin estimated at over 2,000 feet deep. The crater is already collecting water from surrounding streams.
  significance: 82
  type: newspaper
  region: United States (Continental)
- publisher: Pacific Coastal Gazette
  publisherSlug: pacific-coastal-gazette
  headline: Ash Cloud from Oregon Eruption Darkens Skies Across Three Territories
  publishedAt: 5700-08-22
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - archive unavailable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Reports from settlements in California and northern territories indicate that fine volcanic ash from the Mazama eruption has blanketed regions hundreds of miles away, affecting air quality and livestock. Scientists note the eruption's scale is unprecedented in living memory.
  significance: 85
  type: newspaper
  region: United States (Pacific Coast)
