Perhaps you’ve seen it, a sharp, bright black-and-white image of Crater Lake, the heavily clouded sky reflected in the water below. It is one of three photographs taken by pioneer photographer Peter Britt on Aug. 13, 1874. Crater Lake historians Larry and Lloyd Smith described the scene: “The Britt Party has been camping at the Rim for days. Britt is ready to give up and leave without a photograph when suddenly the clouds part, the sun shines through and the first photograph ever of Crater Lake is taken.”
Britt made an unsuccessful earlier attempt to reach the lake in 1868. A year later he provided James Sutton with photographic equipment when his exploring party floated a canvas boat on the lake. Sutton wrote later, “I was prepared to take photographs of the lake, but owing to the smoke in the atmosphere I did not succeed.”
Until Sutton named Crater Lake, it had been known variously as Hole-in-the-Ground, Deep Blue Lake, Mysterious Lake and Majestic Lake. The Indians called it Glowys or Gaywas.
Britt continued taking pictures of the lake that helped convince the federal government to make it a national park.
Sources: Vattiat, Drew. "Historic Photos: Crater Lake National Park." The Oregonian/Oregon Live 18 Oct. 2013 [Portland, Ore.] . Web. 16 Mar. 2016. http://www.oregonlive.com/multimedia/index.ssf/2013/10/crater_lake_national_park_hist.html; Smith, Larry B., and Lloyd Smith. "1874.” Smith Brothers' Chronological History of Crater Lake National Park. Crater Lake Institute. Crater Lake Institute, 2016. Web. 27 Feb. 2016. http://www.craterlakeinstitute.com/cultural-history/smith-brothers-chronology/smiths-chronology-1874.htm; Source: Miller, Bill. “Was Britt's photo of Crater Lake first? Peter Britt did not take the first photograph of Crater Lake — or did he?” Mail-Tribune 21 Feb. 2010[Medford, Ore.] . Web. 16 Mar. 2016.
