The Gemündener Maar is the northernmost of the three Daun Maars (''Dauner Maare''). It lies in the immediate vicinity of the village of Gemünden and ca. 1.5 km south of

Daun Daun is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the district seat and also the seat of the ' of Daun. Geography Location The town lies in the , a part of the Eifel known for its volcanic history, geogra ...

in the Eifel and in the German state of

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

. The maar lake is around long, wide and up to deep. It has an area of about . The maar is 30,000 years old which makes it younger than the

Schalkenmehrener Maar The Schalkenmehrener Maar is a maar roughly 3 kilometres southeast of the town of Daun in the Eifel in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. It is one of the Daun Maars (''Dauner Maare'') or Daun Maar Group and is a double maar, comprising a ...

(western maar lake and eastern dry maar) and is the smallest of the three maars of Daun. Its water surface lies at an elevation of ca. , the floor of the maar at 368 metres above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. Parts of the lake are used for bathing in summer, which has a marked effect on the surrounding

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

. The maar was formed by a volcanic steam explosion. All that remains, however, is a narrow ridge of slate,

grauwacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

between the maar and the neighbouring Lieser valley. There is a footpath around the maar on which one can view the Devonian rocks around the lake. Numerous volcanic bombs may be found, especially in the western area of the maar.

Literature

* Werner D'hein: ''Nationaler Geopark Vulkanland Eifel. Ein Natur- und Kulturführer.'' Gaasterland-Verlag Düsseldorf, 2006,

External links

The Schalkenmehrener Maars
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gemundener Maar Maars of the Eifel Vulkaneifel Nature reserves in Rhineland-Palatinate Lakes of Rhineland-Palatinate