According to Klamath legends, two spirits named Llao and Skell fought gory battles here. Llao ripped Skell’s heart from his chest, and Skell retaliated by dismembering Llao and throwing the body parts into the lake. Hideous monsters gobbled up everything but Llao’s head, but the lake still holds Llao’s spirit.

“Commanding his domain on top of the world, Crater Lake sits in brooding blue and bold relief against an unsympathetic sky, the water like a solid, weighty mass anchored at the earth’s core. The winds are unforgiving, the clouds hostile, the hidden shoreline mysterious.”
― Foster Kinn