Best Maar

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...

Elegante Crater is a broad maar in the El Pinacate volcanic field of Sonora, Mexico, within the El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve. Approximately 1.6 kilometers across and about 200 meters deep, it formed through explosive interaction between rising magma and groundwater. Its e...

MacDougal Crater is a maar in El Pinacate, Sonora, Mexico, named after American botanist Daniel Trembly MacDougal who explored the Gran Desierto de Altar region in the early 20th century.

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...

Sykes Crater is a volcanic crater in the El Pinacate volcanic field of Sonora, Mexico, within the El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar Biosphere Reserve. It is associated with explosive interaction between magma and groundwater, a process that produced a broad maar and surrounding deposits on the...

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...

Hole-in-the-Ground is a large Pleistocene-era maar volcano located in Lake County, Oregon. It was formed approximately 100,000 years ago by explosive phreatomagmatic eruptions, which occurred when rising magma interacted with groundwater. The crater measures roughly a mile across and 300 feet deep,...

Pulvermaar is a water-filled volcanic maar crater located in the Eifel region of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Formed by volcanic explosions during the Pleistocene epoch, it is recognized as one of the deepest natural lakes in the state. The crater is surrounded by a distinct tuff ring, a geologica...

Lake Averno (or Avernus) is a volcanic crater lake located in Italy's Phlegraean Fields, near Naples. The name derives from the Greek word 'aornos,' meaning 'without birds,' referring to the ancient belief that birds flying over the lake would die due to toxic volcanic fumes. In Roman mythology, it...

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...

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...

Kilbourne Hole is a volcanic maar in southern New Mexico, near the Mexican border and west of the Franklin Mountains. It formed through explosive interaction between rising magma and groundwater, producing a broad crater surrounded in places by deposits of fragmented volcanic material. The site is e...

Lake Alchichica is a saline, alkaline crater lake in Puebla, Mexico, occupying a maar surrounded by a volcanic tuff ring. It is distinguished by pale carbonate microbialites, commonly described as stromatolites, that form conspicuous structures along its shore and beneath the water. The lake also su...

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...

Windsborn Crater Lake is a volcanic crater lake in Germany's Eifel region, notable as the only crater lake north of the Alps whose outflow drains entirely into the North Sea.

Rattlesnake Crater is a volcanic maar in the San Francisco volcanic field of Arizona, notable for its distinct circular depression formed by explosive magma-water interactions.

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.

Gour de Tazenat is a maar crater in the Puy-de-Dôme department of France, formed during a volcanic eruption approximately 10,000 years ago, and is now filled by a deep crater lake.

Laguna Blanca maar is a notable volcanic crater and tuff cone in South America, formed by ancient phreatomagmatic explosions and now filled with water.

Gölcük maar is a prominent volcanic crater lake located in Isparta Province, Turkey, notable for its steep surrounding scoria cone walls and its geological significance in the region.

Lunar Crater is a prominent volcanic maar in Nye County, Nevada, notable for being a National Natural Landmark and the centerpiece of the Lunar Crater Volcanic Field.

Strohn Maar is a dry volcanic crater in Germany's Eifel region, notable for its surrounding pyroclastic deposits and its proximity to the famous 120-ton Strohn lava bomb.

Immerather Maar is a dry maar in Germany's Eifel region, notable for lacking a crater lake due to porous sediments and serving as a distinct circular depression used for agriculture.

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.

Orakei Basin is a tuff cone crater in Auckland, New Zealand, whose low-lying floor contains a tidal lagoon connected to the Waitemata Harbour.