Flora & Fauna

Flora & Fauna

Two primary types of fish swim beneath the surface of Crater Lake: kokanee salmon and rainbow trout. It's estimated that hundreds of thousands of kokanee inhabit the lake, but since boating and recreational access is so limited they elude many would-be sportsmen. Kokanees average about 8 to 10 inches in length, but they can grow to nearly 20 inches. Rainbow trout are larger than the kokanee, reaching nearly a foot, but are less abundant in Crater Lake. Trout—including bull, Eastern brook, rainbow, and German brown—also swim in the park's many streams and rivers; but they usually remain elusive because these waterways flow near inaccessibly steep canyons.

Remote canyons also shelter the park's elk and deer populations, which can sometimes be seen at dusk and dawn feeding at forest's edge. Black bears and pine martens—cousins of the short-tailed weasel—also call Crater Lake home. Birds such as three-toed-and hairy woodpeckers, California gulls, red-tailed hawks, and great horned owls are more commonly seen in the summer in forests below the lake.