While a few of these natural wonders formed as a result of meteors raining down through our atmosphere, many more were skillfully crafted by the volcanic hands of our own Mother Earth.
From the active hot spots of Iceland and Indonesia to the now-extinct volcanic relics of millennia long past, these dramatic depressions provide an invaluable peek into the geological history of our planet.
Crater Lake was formed following the eruption and collapse of Mount Mazama (Photo: Matthew Connolly/Shutterstock)
Crater Lake, Mount Mazama, Oregon
Arguably the most iconic caldera lake in the United States, this natural wonder is the main attraction in the appropriately titled Crater Lake National Park. The 2,148-foot-deep lake was formed around 5,667 B.C. after the eruption and collapse of Mount Mazama.
Before its destruction, the stratovolcano was regarded by the local Klamath Native American tribe to be the god of the underworld, known as Llao. The collapse of the mountain was witnessed by the Klamaths, who recorded it as a great battle between Llao and their sky god, Skell.
Who wants to a take a dip in a sulphuric acid lake? No one, hopefully. (Photo: Galyna Andrushko/Shutterstock)
Blue Fire Crater, Kawah Ijen Volcano, Indonesia
Don't let the beautiful mint green hue of this crater lake deceive you. The picturesque Kawah Ijen is actually filled with sulphuric acid, and it lays claims to being the largest highly acidic lake on Earth, according to the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program. With all that sulphur washing up on the shore, it also the home of an active sulphur mine. It's common to see miners hand-carrying large baskets full of bright yellow chunks of solid sulphur uphill from the lake's shore.
The crater has become a popular tourist destination in recent years, thanks in part to global publicity generated around its famous blue fire, which is the result of sulphuric gas igniting as it escapes cracks in the ground.
Kaali Lake played a part in a Estonian mythology. (Photo: skvoor/Shutterstock)
Kaali Lake, Saaremaa, Estonia
Some people might call this sublime natural wonder a pond rather than a lake, but regardless of semantics, it's easy to understand why this tree-sheltered circular depression would play such a huge part in the local Estonian mythology. The lake, along with its eight sibling craters, are the result of a violent meteor impact that is generally agreed to have occurred between 4,000 and 7,600 years ago. The energy of the impact is believed to been brutal, and has even been compared to the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Mount Katmai's crater lake in Alaska is a little difficult to reach. (Photo: Budd Christman/NOAA/Wikimedia Commons)
Mount Katmai, Alaska
This remote crater lake situated in the caldera of a 6,716-foot-high stratovolcano is found in southern Alaska's Katmai National Park and Preserve. Measuring about 6.3 miles in diameter, the Mount Katmai caldera was formed in 1912 after the first-time eruption of the nearby Novarupta volcano.
Rano Kau offers a beautiful break from Easter Island's moai head statues. (Photo: Alberto Loyo/Shutterstock)
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