The Volcano Museum (german: Vulkanmuseum) in the old district administrative office (''Landratsamt'') in

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 ...

, Germany, was set up as an extension of the existing 'geopaths' at

Hillesheim Hillesheim () is the third largest town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was the seat of the former ''Verbandsgemeinde'' Hillesheim. Geography Location The town lies almost in the middle, halfway between C ...

, Manderscheid and

Gerolstein Gerolstein () is a town in the Vulkaneifel district of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Gerolstein is a local municipality of the ''Verbandsgemeinde Gerolstein''. It has been approved as a '' Luftkurort'' (spa town). History As early as the Ston ...

and is part of the Volcanic Eifel Nature and Geopark. Numerous information boards, photographs and exhibits from the Volcanic Eifel, as well as of currently active volcanoes in Europe and Asia, offer insights into the geological development of the Volcanic Eifel region. In addition there are several other volcano museums that cover the Eifel, such as the Maar Museum in Manderscheid and the

Volcano House, Strohn A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates ar ...

Exhibits

In the exhibition rooms are interactive computer models about the geology and volcanism of the Eifel. On a large overview map at the entrance, the phenomena of continental movement ( plate tectonics) is explained, and currently active volcanoes can be viewed by means of fluorescent lights. A computer simulation shows the distribution of the continents in the geological eras of the past and also in the future. Other exhibits explain the origin and evolution of the rocks. In the exhibition room "Eifel Volcanism" the visitor can even simulate a volcanic eruption using a model of a

cinder cone A cinder cone (or scoria cone) is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions o ...

. Other models show the entire region of the volcanic

West Eifel The West Eifel (german: Westeifel) refers to that part of the Eifel mountains in Germany that is centred on the town of Prüm and reaches as far as the border with Belgium and Luxembourg. It is not geographically precisely defined however, overla ...

and the formation of volcano types in Eifel region. The models are supplemented in turn by numerous exhibits from the Volcanic Eifel. In the Volcanic Eifel Geo Centre all the geologically-related facilities of the Volcanic Eifel are summarized on an information board. These include the Devonian Route, the Bunter Sandstone Route, the Volcano Route, the Mineral Spring Route as well as mining and other museum facilities. Once again, visitors can illuminate geologically interesting places on a clear wall map using buttons. In the basement of the museum, the training centre of the Geo Centre offers a wide range of media and exhibits relating to geology.

Literature

* Werner P. D´hein: ''Vulkanland Eifel. Natur- und Kulturführer, mit 26 Stationen der "Deutschen Vulkanstraße".'' Gaasterland-Verlag, Düsseldorf, 2006, ,

External links

* {{Coord, 50, 11, 53.7, N, 6, 49, 46.85, E, type:landmark_region:DE-RP, display=title Volcanism of Germany Geology museums in Germany Museums in Rhineland-Palatinate Museums in the Eifel Vulkaneifel Volcanology in Germany Volcano museums