the klamath tribe of native americans have long thought of the lake as a sacred site. their legends tell of a battle between the sky god skell and llao, the god of the underworld. mount mazama was destroyed in the battle. that resulted in the creation of crater lake. the klamath people used crater lake in vision quests. the klamath believed those who were successful in such quests had more spiritual powers. the tribe still holds crater lake in high regard as a spiritual site.