Oregon · National Park Service (Crater Lake National Park)

Crater Lake water level

Today's reading against full pool and Crater Lake's own seasonal history.

6170 6175
Elevation, feet (NGVD29)

as of August 20, 2026

6166.58 ft NGVD29

level Reading is unusually low for mid-August.

Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 11492200) and updates live when you load this page.


Crater Lake through the year

The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1980–2009. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.

6170 6175 JFMAMJJASOND
Median and normal range by day of year, 1980–2009 · elevation, feet (NGVD29)

This year vs the years that matter

This year's trace against last year and the driest and wettest years on record — the drought-context question every lake regular asks.

6170 6175 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 1994 (most recent on record, driest on record)
  • 1984 (wettest on record)

Full pool, datum, and the gauge

"Full pool" here means the conservation pool — the level the lake is designed to hold for water supply and recreation, not the flood-control space above it. The full explainer covers flood pool and dead pool too.

Full pool not published by the operator
Gauge USGS gauge 11492200 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System
Datum NGVD29
Last verified August 20, 2026

LakeDates reports lake level, not ramp status. Whether a given ramp or marina is usable at this level varies ramp by ramp — call the marina before you tow.

Quick answers

How full is Crater Lake right now?

Crater Lake is at 6166.58 ft (NGVD29) as of August 20, 2026 — Reading is unusually low for mid-August.

Is Crater Lake full?

National Park Service (Crater Lake National Park) doesn't publish a conservation-pool figure for Crater Lake, so this page shows the reading against the lake's own seasonal history instead.

What is full pool for Crater Lake?

National Park Service (Crater Lake National Park) doesn't publish a single conservation-pool elevation for Crater Lake. The seasonal chart shows the range the lake actually runs instead.