Lake Vico ( it, Lago di Vico) is a

caldera lake A volcanic crater lake is a lake in a crater that was formed by explosive activity or a collapse during a volcanic eruption. Formation Lakes in calderas fill large craters formed by the collapse of a volcano during an eruption. Lakes in maars ...

in the northern Lazio region, central Italy. It is one of the highest major Italian lakes, with an altitude of 510 m. Administratively, it is part of the municipalities of

Caprarola Caprarola is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in the Lazio region of central Italy. The village is situated in a range of volcanic hills known as the Cimini Mounts. The town is home to the large Renaissance mansion or villa w ...

and

Ronciglione Ronciglione (locally ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, Lazio (central Italy), about from Viterbo. The city is located in the Cimini mountains, over two tuff scarps, on the SE slope of the former volcano crater now housing ...

. The lake is surrounded by the

Cimini Hills The Monti Cimini, in English: Cimini Hills, are a range of densely wooded volcanic hills approximately north-west of Rome. They are part of the Antiapennine range, facing the Apennines main range towards the Tyrrhenian Sea. They are situated ...

, in particular by the Fogliano (965 m) and Venere (851 m) mountains. It is part of the Lake Vico Natural Reserve. According to legend, the lake was created by

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

, who defied the local inhabitants by wielding his club. When he did this, a stream sprang up and formed the lake. Lake Vico occupies the central

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber i ...

of Vico Volcano. A

volcanic cone Volcanic cones are among the simplest volcanic landforms. They are built by ejecta from a volcanic vent, piling up around the vent in the shape of a cone with a central crater. Volcanic cones are of different types, depending upon the nature and ...

was built up in a series of eruptions that occurred 305,000 to 258,000 years ago. Later, the eruption of voluminous pyroclastic flows, and

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...

, caused the progressive collapse of the volcanic cone, which created the caldera, in which Lake Vico now lies, by about 138,000 years ago.Locardi, E. (1965) ''Tipi ignimbritici di magmi mediterranei: le ignimbriti del vulcano di Vico.'' Atti Soc. Tosc. Sci. Nat. Serie A, v. 72, pp. 55-174.Peccerillo, A. (2005) ''Plio-Quaternary Volcanism in Italy Petrology, Geochemistry, Geodynamics.'' Springer-Verlag Berlin Germany. 365 pp. The lake is drained by the River Vicano. Before the construction of a tunnel by the Etruscans, the lake was probably deeper than today, the Monte Venere constituting an island within it. The area is famous for its extensive

Beech Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engle ...

forest, which is one of the most southerly in Europe. The elevation, plus the surrounding sides of the crater, create cool enough conditions for the continued survival of the trees. A large part of the northern side of the crater is a nature reserve to protect this forest.

Wildlife

An incomplete list of wildlife present in the Vico Natural Preserve include: *

Great crested grebe The great crested grebe (''Podiceps cristatus'') is a member of the grebe family of water birds noted for its elaborate mating display. Taxonomy The great crested grebe was Species description, formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl L ...

, symbol of the preserve *

Black kite The black kite (''Milvus migrans'') is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors. It is thought to be the world's most abundant species of Accipitridae, although some populations have ...

Common teal The Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca''), common teal, or Eurasian green-winged teal is a common and widespread duck that breeds in temperate Eurosiberia and migrates south in winter. The Eurasian teal is often called simply the teal due to being th ...

Common toad The common toad, European toad, or in Anglophone parts of Europe, simply the toad (''Bufo bufo'', from Latin ''bufo'' "toad"), is a frog found throughout most of Europe (with the exception of Ireland, Iceland, and some Mediterranean islands), in ...

Common whitefish ''Coregonus lavaretus'' is a species of freshwater whitefish, in the family Salmonidae. It is the type species of its genus '' Coregonus''. There are widely different concepts about the delimitation of the species ''Coregonus lavaretus'' and abo ...

Coypu The nutria (''Myocastor coypus''), also known as the coypu, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic rodent. Classified for a long time as the only member of the family Myocastoridae, ''Myocastor'' is now included within Echimyidae, the family of t ...

Eurasian badger The European badger (''Meles meles''), also known as the Eurasian badger, is a badger species in the family Mustelidae native to almost all of Europe. It is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List as it has a wide range and a large stabl ...

* Eurasian coot * Eurasian jay *

Eurasian scops owl The Eurasian scops owl (''Otus scops''), also known as the European scops owl or just scops owl, is a small owl in the typical owl family Strigidae. Its breeding range extends from southern Europe eastwards to southern Siberia and the western Him ...

* Fox * Great egret * Grey heron * Herman's tortoise *

Lanner falcon The lanner falcon (''Falco biarmicus'') is a medium-sized bird of prey that breeds in Africa, southeast Europe and just into Asia. It prefers open habitat and is mainly resident, but some birds disperse more widely after the breeding season. A ...

* Little egret * Northern pike *

Pine marten The European pine marten (''Martes martes''), also known as the pine marten, is a mustelid native to and widespread in most of Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus and parts of Iran, Iraq and Syria. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List ...

Eurasian sparrowhawk The Eurasian sparrowhawk (''Accipiter nisus''), also known as the northern sparrowhawk or simply the sparrowhawk, is a small bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Adult male Eurasian sparrowhawks have bluish grey upperparts and orange-barr ...

* Squacco heron * Tree frog *

Water rail The water rail (''Rallus aquaticus'') is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this species is a permanent resident in the war ...

* Wigeon *

Eurasian wren The Eurasian wren (''Troglodytes troglodytes'') or northern wren is a very small insectivorous bird, and the only member of the wren family Troglodytidae found in Eurasia and Africa (Maghreb). In Anglophone Europe, it is commonly known simply ...

* Wild cat

Nearby towns

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early histor ...

Vetralla Vetralla is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in central Italy, south of that city, located on a shoulder of Monte Fogliano. History Vetralla's dominating fortified position in the heart of Etruscan territories has been cont ...

* Capranica

Footnotes

External links

Lake Vico VR panoramas at Tuscia 360
{{Authority control Vico Vico Vico Falisci Pleistocene calderas Vico