Crater lake

Irazú , Costa Rica

Wenchi , Ethiopia

The lake that was formed when the Pinatubo erupted in 1991 , Philippines

The Lake Nyos after his outgassing 1986

Lake Bosumtwi in Ghana , a lake in the impact crater of a meteorite

A crater lake is a lake that is created when a volcanic crater (real crater lake), a caldera , a maar or an impact crater (such as a meteorite ) fills with water.

Since craters are usually circular and surrounded by a higher crater rim, a crater lake has only smaller inflows and often no outflows. Typically, a crater is filled by rainwater (or, especially in the case of maars, by groundwater ) and reaches its equilibrium through seepage and evaporation . By erosion over time (above ground) Discharge may occur or it may also form a flow, as in Lake Taupo on New Zealand , of the Waikato River flows through.

The history of its origins and its isolated position in the water cycle explain the peculiarities of the flora and fauna of a crater lake. The water in a volcanic crater sometimes contains chemicals that make life impossible and it can get very hot. Examples of such often colored acid lakes are the Rincón de la Vieja and the Irazú (both in Costa Rica ). The carbon dioxide content can also be extremely high (see the Nyos disaster ).

Examples of crater lakes

• Africa
  • Wenchi (Caldera, Ethiopia )
  • Bosumtwi (Impact Crater, Ghana )
  • Nyos Lake (Maar, Cameroon )
  • Barombi Mbo (Cameroon)
  • Barombi Koto (Cameroon)
  • Bermin Lake (Cameroon)
  • Lake Dissoni (Cameroon)
• America
  • Katmai (Caldera, Alaska , USA )
  • Crater Lake (Caldera, Oregon , USA)
  • Lac Saint-Jean (impact crater, Québec , Canada )
  • Cuicocha (Caldera, Ecuador )
  • Lake Ilopango , El Salvador
  • Irazú (volcanic crater, Costa Rica )
  • Licancabur (volcanic crater, Bolivia / Chile )
  • Rincon de la Vieja (volcanic crater, Costa Rica)
  • Lake Atitlán ( Guatemala )
  • Apoyo Lake ( Nicaragua )
  • Xiloásee (Nicaragua)
  • Lago Crater "La Joya" (volcanic crater, Mexico)
• Asia
  • Elgygytgyn (impact crater, Northeast Siberia )
  • Nemrut Dağı (Caldera, Turkey )
  • Kuril Lake (Caldera, Kamchatka , Russia )
  • Sky Lake (summit caldera of Paektusan , North Korea / PR China )
  • Pinatubo ( Philippines )
  • Kelut ( Indonesia )
  • Sabalan ( Iran )
  • Lake Toba (Caldera, Indonesia), world's largest crater lake
  • Towada (Caldera, Japan )
  • Tazawa (Caldera, Japan)
• Australia and Oceania
  • Lake Taupo (Caldera, New Zealand )
• Europe
  • Laacher See (Caldera, often referred to as Maar, Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany )
  • Windsborn (volcanic crater, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany)
  • Lake Bolsena (Caldera, Italy )
  • Kerið ( Iceland )
  • Öskjuvatn (Caldera, Iceland)
  • Lake Siljan (impact crater, Sweden )
  • Belső-tó (Caldera, Hungary )
  • Külső-tó (Caldera, Hungary)
• Mars
  • Jezero Crater Lake (Impact Crater)

Web links

Commons : Crater Lake  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Kratersee  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

• 15 of the Most Beautiful Crater Lakes in the World (in English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Wenchi / Wonchi near Oregonstate (English)