Photos

The German low mountain range Eifel, situated between the cities Bonn and Trier (please see map view right hand) is a region of volcanic origin and it still has a lot of extincted and well preserved volcanos. In its eastern part there's a lake of 3,3 km² and a depth of 53 m, the Laacher See. The lake lies 259 m above sea level, it is 8 km in circumference and it has walls with a height of about 125 metres.
It is a caldera - formed after a volcanic eruption dated to 12900 years ago - and it is the biggest one of Europe and the only one filled with water. After the eruption of this volcano the remaining crust collapsed into the empty magma chamber below, probably two or three days after the eruption. With an estimated 6 km³ of magma erupted, this eruption was one and a half as big as the huge 1991 eruption of Pinatubo (Philippines) and about 50 times as strong as the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in 1980 and it probably was the most powerful eruption which ever took place in Middle Europe. It covered the region with pumice-stone up to a hight of 7 meters. It's accumulations are to be found even up to Sweden, Poland and Italy.

Laacher See volcano is a potentially active volcano, proven by seismic activities and heavy thermal anomalies under the lake. Scientists believe that a new eruption at the time isn't supposable but - it could happen at any time, which today would be a disaster beyond all description.

Still today at some spots of the lake carbonic acid bubbles from the underground to the surface. Some days ago I succeeded in finding one of these mofettes, a really mysterious place. My photos (please also see workshop) show the bubbling water here.

12900 years - a second in the history of our planet ...


A panoramic view of the water filled caldera you can see HERE and HERE.