Best Holocene

Hunga Ha’apai is a tuff-cone island situated within the southwest Pacific Ocean near Tonga. It formed as a remnant of a Holocene volcanic event. The island experienced significant destruction alongside Hunga Tonga due to the devastating 2022 eruption. Geologists and volcanologists study its formatio...

Kaali is a cluster of small impact craters situated on Saaremaa Island, Estonia. These features represent evidence of a significant meteorite strike that occurred approximately 2000 years ago during the Holocene epoch. The site’s notable age and relatively well-preserved condition make it an importa...

Surtsey is a young, tuff-cone volcanic island formed off Iceland’s southern coast during the Holocene epoch. Its emergence in 1963 created a unique research reserve offering scientists an unparalleled opportunity to study ecological succession and geological processes in a newly formed environment....

Rangitoto Island is a volcanic tuff cone located in Auckland Harbour, New Zealand. Formed during the Holocene epoch through explosive eruptions of lava and ash, it represents a significant example of a basal tuff cone structure. The island’s dramatic basaltic peak and surrounding crater are notable...

Vulcan Island, also known as Talay, is a volcanic tuff cone situated within Taal Lake in the Philippines. Formed during the Holocene epoch, it represents the active core of Taal Volcano. The island’s prominent crater holds the lake's primary water source and frequently displays volcanic activity inc...

Laacher See is a maar lake located within the Eifel region of Germany. It represents the remains of a volcanic eruption around 13,000 years ago, creating a tuff-cone structure known as a ‘maar’. The significant feature is the extensive tuff ring and ash deposit resulting from this Plinian event, imp...

South Crater is a broad, nearly level volcanic basin on Mount Tongariro in New Zealand's central North Island. The Tongariro Alpine Crossing traverses its floor between the slopes near Ngauruhoe and the ascent toward Red Crater, making it one of the route's most recognizable landscape sections. Desp...

The Specchio di Venere is a shallow crater lake located on the volcanic island of Pantelleria, Italy. It occupies a volcanic maar, which was formed by a phreatomagmatic eruption caused by the interaction of magma and groundwater. The lake's water is highly alkaline and warmed by geothermal activity,...

Kolumbo is an active submarine tuff cone located approximately 8 kilometers northeast of the island of Santorini in the Aegean Sea. The volcano is widely known for its catastrophic 1650 CE eruption, which generated destructive pyroclastic surges and a tsunami that resulted in approximately 70 fatali...

Budj Bim, also known as Mount Eccles, is an extinct volcano and tuff cone located in Victoria, Australia. The site holds significant cultural and historical value, recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage area for its association with the Gunditjmara Aboriginal people. It features the remains of one of...

Ubehebe Crater is a large volcanic maar located in the northern part of Death Valley National Park, California. It was formed by a phreatomagmatic explosion, in which rising magma encountered groundwater and produced a violent steam eruption. The crater measures roughly half a mile across and over 7...

The Waitaha penguin (Megadyptes waitaha) is an extinct species of crested penguin endemic to New Zealand, first described by scientists in 2008. DNA analysis and fossil records revealed that the species was closely related to the modern yellow-eyed penguin, which colonized New Zealand mainland after...

Kamil is a meteorite impact crater located in the East Uweinat Desert in southwestern Egypt. Measuring 45 meters in diameter and 16 meters deep, the crater was discovered in 2008 using Google Earth satellite imagery before being verified by a ground expedition. It is notable for its exceptional pres...

Hverfjall, also known as Hverfell, is a prominent tuff ring volcano located in northeastern Iceland, situated near the geothermal area of Lake Mývatn. The crater was formed approximately 2,500 years ago during a short but explosive volcanic eruption. It features a massive, circular crater measuring...

Lac Pavin is a deep crater lake located in the volcanic Auvergne region of central France. It was formed within a maar and tuff cone, representing one of the youngest volcanic formations in the country. The lake is scientifically notable for being meromictic, meaning its water layers do not mix, whi...

Henbury is a meteorite impact crater field situated in the arid Northern Territory of Australia. The site consists of 13 distinct craters that were created roughly 4,200 years ago by the impact of an iron meteorite. The largest crater measures about 180 meters in width and 15 meters in depth. Abunda...

Lake Surprise is a crater lake situated within a prominent volcanic tuff cone in Victoria, Australia. It is nested securely inside the caldera of an ancient volcano located in the Budj Bim National Park, formerly known as Mount Eccles National Park. The lake was formed by a series of basaltic erupti...

El Golfo is a partially eroded volcanic tuff cone located on the northwestern coast of Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, Spain. It was formed by hydrovolcanic activity, creating a crater that has been partially breached by the Atlantic Ocean. The breached crater contains a distinctive green lagoon kn...

Myōjin-shō is a submarine volcano located south of Tokyo, Japan, within the Izu-Bonin island arc. The volcano is named after its 1952 eruption, which created a temporary, ephemeral island that was soon destroyed by waves. During this eruption, the Japanese survey ship *Kaiyo Maru No. 5* was destroye...

Tower Hill is a volcanic complex in southwestern Victoria, Australia, consisting of a nested maar and tuff cone formed by explosive interaction between rising magma and groundwater. The inactive volcano lies within a broad crater occupied in part by wetlands and islands. The area is protected as Tow...

Binintiang Malaki is a tuff cone associated with Taal Volcano in the Philippines, located within Taal Lake. It represents a historical eruption vent of the Taal volcanic system. The cone is one of several volcanic landforms that characterize the Taal caldera complex.

Dotsero is a volcanic feature in Eagle County, Colorado, near the confluence of the Eagle and Colorado rivers. Its crater was formed by an explosive eruption about 4,150 years ago, making it the site of Colorado’s youngest recognized volcanic eruption. The feature includes a maar-like crater and ass...

The Zuni Salt Lake maar in New Mexico is a sacred saline volcanic crater, notable for its historic salt trade and being a National Natural Landmark designated in 2000.

Little Hebe Crater is a small volcanic maar in California's Death Valley, notable as a younger secondary vent formed concurrently with the nearby Ubehebe Crater.

Janubio is a tuff cone on the southwestern coast of Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, situated adjacent to the largest salt evaporation flats in the Canary Islands.

Ilumetsa is a group of small meteorite impact craters in Estonia, notable for their relatively recent formation roughly 4,000 to 7,000 years ago during the Holocene.

Extinct New Zealand penguin, a close relative of the living yellow-eyed penguin, that went extinct following Polynesian settlement of New Zealand around 1500 CE.