Seven Wonders of Oregon

Mount Hood is a famous place to visit in Oregon. You can see the mountain from many places in the state. It is about 50 miles from Portland. You can drive from the city to the mountain in about one hour. Many people climb the mountain every year — almost as many people as Mount Fuji in Japan! Mount Hood is 11,249 feet tall. It is the highest mountain in Oregon. It is actually a dormant (sleeping) volcano. The mountain has 12 glaciers. It is always covered in ice and snow. People can ski all year long. Timberline Lodge is at 6,000 feet. It is a beautiful place to go skiing or hiking. Some people like to rest by the fire and enjoy the view of the mountain. The roads around Mount Hood are called “The Fruit Loop.” There are many farms and fruit orchards. They grow apples, peaches, pears, blueberries, cherries, and other fruits. There are also many lakes near Mount Hood.

Visitors like to go camping and fishing at Trillium Lake, Lost Lake, and Mirror Lake. The air is fresh, and everything is beautiful. Native American people call the mountainWy’east. They have many stories about the mountain. In the story, two brothers (Wy’east and Klickitat) love the same woman (Loo-wit). The brothers fight a lot. The Great Spirit wants to stop the fight. The Great Spirit changes the brothers into mountains. One brother becomes Mount Hood in Oregon. The other brother becomes Mount Adams in Washington. The beautiful woman becomes Mount Saint Helens.

Crater Lake National Park is in Southern Oregon. 8,000 years ago, Crater Lake was a very tall mountain. It was 1,000 feet taller than Mount Hood. Scientists gave it the name of Mount Mazama, but Native Americans called it Moyaina. This means “big mountain.” How did a mountain become a lake? The mountain was a volcano. There was a big explosion, and the volcano erupted. The top of the mountain fell. It made a large hole. Later, the hole filled with water from rain and snow. The water is very clear, and the lake is very deep — 2,000 feet! It is the deepest lake in the United States. Crater Lake is a very special place for Native Americans. They have many stories about the lake and the mountain.

In one story, a spirit named Llao came from the Below-World to Mount Mazama before there was a lake. He saw Loha. She was the daughter of a chief of the Klamath people. Llao fell in love with Loha, but she didn’t like him. Llao became angry. He tried to burn the Klamath people by throwing fire from a hole in the mountain. Several medicine men went to the mountain. They gave themselves to Llao. They wanted to make Llao happy again. But the spirit from the Above-World told them to stop. The spirit fought Llao. It pushed Llao back into a hole in the mountain. Then blue water flowed out of the hole. It filled the top of the mountain. It made a beautiful lake, and this lake was very special for the Klamath people. It was a place where many Native Americans went to pray.