Geopark Vulkanland Eifel

Logo of the Geopark Vulkanland Eifel

The Geopark Vulkanland Eifel was a national geopark established on April 19, 2005 in the Vulkaneifel . Since July 2016, the National Geopark Vulkanland Eifel no longer exists in its previous form - it has been divided into two independent National Geoparks, the Geopark Laacher See and the Geopark Vulkaneifel .

Location and history

Over an area of ​​2,200 km², the Geopark stretched across the Eifel from the Belgian border in the west to the Rhine in the east . The landscape, marked by the volcanism of the past, is characterized by a multitude of maars , cinder cones , lava flows , lava domes , calderas and bubbling springs. The largest caldera is the Laacher See volcano , which last erupted around 13,000 years ago . A sign of ongoing volcanic activity in this area are the visible volcanic gases escaping.

The area is used intensively by tourism . Information centers and museums were set up, and geological, cultural and industrial historical natural and cultural monuments on the subject of Eifel volcanism were made accessible to tourists. Hiking and biking trails as well as signposted car routes connect the individual stations.

The Geopark Vulkanland Eifel united the following regional geoparks in Rhineland-Palatinate:

• Vulkanpark in the district of Mayen-Koblenz (seat in Koblenz )
• Brohltal / Laacher See volcano park (based in Niederzissen )
• Vulkaneifel Nature and Geopark (based in Daun )

The German Volcano Road opens up the geological characteristics of the Vulkaneifel . It touches 39 of the most important geological, cultural-historical and industrial-historical sights in the Vulkaneifel. The Vulkanstrasse connects the three regional geoparks.

literature

• Karl-Heinz Schumacher and Wilhelm Meyer: Geopark Vulkanland Eifel. Lava dome and lava cellar in Mendig. Editor: Karl Peter Wiemer. Rhenish Association for Monument Preservation and Landscape Protection , Cologne 2006 (= Rhenish Landscapes, Issue 57).
• Werner d´Hein: National Geopark Vulkanland Eifel. A nature and culture guide. Gaasterland-Verlag, Düsseldorf 2006, ISBN 3-935873-15-8 .

Web links

National Geopark Vulkanland Eifel ( Memento from June 7, 2012 in the Internet Archive )

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Make 2 out of 1: National GeoPark is divided into two Geoparks. National-geopark.de, accessed on September 22, 2016 . 

Coordinates: 50 ° 10 ′ 37.5 ″  N , 6 ° 50 ′ 52.4 ″  E