Geopark Vulkaneifel

The theme of the Volcanic Eifel Geopark is, as the name suggests, volcanism in the Eifel. It is relatively young and not, as one might think at first glance, extinct. Volcanism in the Eifel began 50 million years ago in the Tertiary period and has continued into the geological present. It created numerous volcanic structures which strongly influenced the landscape. However, these visible structures were formed during the last 500,000 years. There are lava flows and extensive blankets of volcanic ejecta made of tuff and pumice. Such deposits were the basis of significant mining activity for the extraction of building materials since Roman times.

Increasing activity can currently be observed, such as an increase in carbon dioxide production from the numerous mofettes. Also, the Eifel rises by about a millimetre per year, which is the result of a filling magma chamber in the underground. It seems there is a hotspot below the Eifel and the crust is much thinner than in average. Of course, a new eruption is still unlikely at all. But if it occurred, it would be a great disaster, as there are several large cities like Cologne and if the Rhine was blocked by a voluminous eruption in the Eifel, the whole Rhine valley with numerous large cities would be flooded.

Although there are no caves here - lava caves have probably not been created due to the peculiarities of the local volcanism - there are various underground sights, such as various quarries where the basalt was extracted, as well as tunnels that were created for other reasons. The Volcanic Eifel is also known as the East Eifel Volcanic Field (EEVF). Characteristic are the typical explosion craters which contain lakes and are called Maars, and there are numerous lava streams and deposits of volcanic tuffs. The most famous is the Laacher See caldera, but the Wallender Born geyser in Wallenborn and the geyser near Andernach are also worth a visit.