Acid lake
An acid lake is a volcanic crater lake with acidic water. Many volcanoes in areas with high precipitation such as Indonesia have such acid lakes.
The aggressive sulfur vapors that rise from the volcanic mouth decompose the rock around the crater into fine clay . This clay seals the crater floor so that rainwater can collect in the hollow. The corrosive gases continue to swell under water and react with the water to form acid.
Acid lakes can be extremely colored. A different color results depending on the geological circumstances. There are spectacular crater lakes with a poison green or turquoise blue color in the volcanoes on the land bridge between North America and South America . Costa Rica in particular is rich in such lakes. Particularly well known is the acid lake of Rincon de la Vieja , an active stratovolcano .
Turquoise-colored is the acid lake from the southern vent of Maly Semyachik , a volcano on the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka .
hazards
If volcanoes erupt, which harbor such acid lakes in their crater interior, a hot and caustic mud stream can pour over the flanks of the volcano. This then consists of acidic water, volcanic ash and stones and is able to devastate entire stretches of land.
