Geo 365: Sept. 1, Day 244: Pumice Desert Panorama

I've not yet touched Crater Lake in this series, and I probably have enough photos to do a whole month on that location. Not that I will, but I probably could.

So here we are, coming in the north entrance, at the Pumice Desert, looking more or less northward. (right click on the image here for size options)  You may recall the tremendous normal faulting I posted back in January, along Route 97, as we headed up toward this area. This mis-named "desert" actually gets plenty of precipitation, especially winter snow, but the high permeability and depth of the pumice (about 200 m) means rain and melt water simply drain through, and plants have been unable to become well established.

Photo stitched in HugIn. August 18, 2011. FlashEarth location.