How Deep Is Crater Lake? 1,943 Feet, Measured by Sonar
Crater Lake is 1,943 feet (592 meters) deep at its deepest point, the deepest lake in the United States. That is the figure the National Park Service publishes, and it is the one our map uses.
Where the number comes from
The National Park Service states that "at 1,943 feet (592 meters), Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the United States and one of the deepest in the world." The most recent official measurement used multibeam sidescan sonar, applied in 2000. An earlier U.S. Geological Survey exploration in 1886 had estimated 1,996 feet (608 meters), 53 feet more than the sonar result.
How we draw it
Our Crater Lake edition is drawn from USGS 3DEP elevation data and USGS bathymetry, as contour lines every 50 feet, edited by hand. Nothing is generated. The Archive ID is HE-DP-26-007-CRL; you can check it against the source on the data page.
Questions
Is Crater Lake the deepest lake in the world? No. The National Park Service calls it one of the deepest in the world, and the deepest in the United States.
Why did the 1886 and modern depths differ? The 1886 figure was an estimate from an early survey; the 2000 figure comes from multibeam sonar. Both numbers are in the National Park Service document above.
The map
The lake floor, as an 18x24 in archival print or a tee: Crater Lake poster · Crater Lake tee · Complete Edition (tee + print).
Figures checked against the sources above on October 2, 2026.