The Crater Lake Monster now has a name!

For millennia, tales have been told about monsters lurking under the surface of Oregon's famed Crater Lake. The indigenous peoples who made their home near the lake had stories of such a beast, as did the early settlers of the region.

Such legends are not just in the past, however. A frightening modern-day sighting was reported by Mattie Hatcher of Albany, Georgia, who said she saw a long dragon-like creature swim under their rowboat on Crater Lake when she was a child.

Until now, however, this legendary but elusive Crater Lake resident hasn't had a proper name, and this just seemed... well, undignified! Nessie of Scotland's Loch Ness has a name, after all, as does the sea serpent Caddy, who makes appearances up and down the Pacific Coast of North America.

We decided this was a wrong that must be righted, so we held a naming contest, and… we have a winner!!

Magma, short for Magmasaurus, with Maggie as a wonderful, cheery nickname for the monster, was submitted by John Maunder of Sevenoaks, England. The contest judges unanimously choose this as the appropriate moniker for the mysterious denizen of Crater Lake, and since the lake was formed by a massive volcanic explosion, I have to agree!

As John lives across the pond in England, he has kindly offered to donate his prize of dinner and bowling to a worthy family in the area.

Congratulations to John, and many thanks to all who submitted name entries. Each one was massively creative and a winner in its own right!

Thanks must also be given to KWRO radio's Hooked on Oregon for announcing the contest on the air, and to the show's crew - Cam Parry, Mark Mattechek, Rick Osborne, Jeff Galusha, and Sandy Messerle - who combed through the many worthy entries to find the winner. We also offer thanks to North Bend Lanes for their generous donation of a prize.

Could there be a Crater Lake monster? If you ask Mattie Hatcher of Albany, Georgia, she'd say yes.

Like any good landmark, Crater Lake has its legends. There are stories of monsters and Wizard Island fire spirits told by indigenous peoples, as well as by early settlers. In 2002, the Fort Meyers (Florida) News-Star newspaper relayed a modern tale, one of a Georgia woman who claims to have seen a monster in the lake as a child. I would imagine that the experience makes her shudder even now.

As told by Mattie Hatcher of Albany, Georgia, she was out on the lake with friends when something swam underneath their rowboat, which she described as "a block long." She said her friends saw it, too, and that it gave them all a good fright.

"I have never been so scared in my life," she said. "What we saw that day was a monster. To me, it looked like a dragon. I know why the Indians call that place Lost Lake. They say monsters live in it. I believe them. I know, because I saw one there."

Reported sightings of cryptid creatures like Big Foot, the sea serpent Caddy, or Nessie in Scotland are hard to prove. They do occur, though, and probably more often than we realize. If there is a monster in Crater Lake, don't you think it deserves a name?

Here's where you come in. You can give the monster a name by leaving a suggestion in the comments below, emailing me at Adventure@NorthwestObsessed.net, or messaging me through the Northwest Obsessed Facebook page. We're counting on you!

If you need inspiration, you may be able to find it by reading my post about Crater Lake here: Glorious Crater Lake - Northwest Obsessed Blog.

Aside from bragging rights, there's a prize for suggesting the name that's chosen - dinner and bowling for two at North Bend Lanes in North Bend, Oregon. (Don't let the locale fool you - dinner there is seriously good, and with a wonderful wine list!) For those out of the area, we'll think of something to reward your creativity.