Old Man of the Lake facts for kids
The Old Man of the Lake is a really old tree stump that floats upright in Oregon's beautiful Crater Lake. It's about 30 feet (9 meters) tall and has been bobbing around since at least 1896! It's probably a type of tree called a hemlock.
The stump is about 2 feet (61 cm) wide where it meets the water. About 4 feet (1.2 meters) of it sticks out above the surface. The part that's exposed to the sun looks white because the sun has bleached it. The top of the stump is a bit splintered and worn. Even though it's old, it's wide and floats well enough to hold a person's weight!
A special type of moss called Fontinalis grows on the Old Man of the Lake. This moss usually lives deep underwater in Crater Lake, about 394 feet (120 meters) down. The Old Man of the Lake is the only place this moss grows near the surface.
A Floating Mystery: The Old Man's History
The first person to write about the Old Man of the Lake was Joseph S. Diller. He was a geologist who studied Crater Lake. In 1902, the same year Crater Lake became a national park, Diller wrote about seeing the stump six years earlier, in 1896. Scientists have used carbon dating to guess how old the tree itself is. They think the tree is at least 450 years old!
Diller wanted to see if the stump could move. He tied a wire around it and pulled it a short distance. Five years later, he saw the Old Man was about a quarter-mile (400 meters) from where he had first noted it. The oldest known photo of the stump is from around this time.
How Does the Old Man Move?
People started keeping track of the Old Man's location between July and September 1938. They found that it travels a lot and sometimes moves surprisingly fast! During those three months in 1938, the Old Man traveled at least 62.1 miles (100 kilometers). It moved the most on days when the wind was strong and the waves were big.
Because it can be almost anywhere on the lake, boat captains often tell each other where the Old Man is. This helps keep everyone safe while boating.
In 1988, scientists were exploring the lake in submarines. They decided to tie the Old Man to the eastern side of Wizard Island. They wanted to keep it from being a danger to their research boats. But after they tied it up, the weather changed from clear to stormy. It even started snowing in August! When they released the Old Man, the weather quickly cleared up. This made some people think there was something special about the stump!
As of January 2012, tour boats still regularly pass by the Old Man on their trips around Crater Lake. The lake's water is so clear that you can see the entire part of the tree stump that is underwater!
