Kerið crater

Feb 22, 2021

The red rocks in the volcanic crater Kerið in south Iceland stand out against the environment and the crater lake has a beautiful blue-green colour. It is located in the Grímsnes area in south Iceland, along the road through the Golden Circle. It is one of several crater lakes in the area, known as Iceland's Western Volcanic Zone, which includes the Reykjanes peninsula, created as the land moved over a hotspot. The caldera, like the other volcanic rock in the area, is composed of a red volcanic rock. The caldera itself is approximately 55 m (180 ft) deep, 170 m (560 ft) wide, and 270 m (890 ft) across. Kerið's caldera is approximately 3,000 years old, only half the age of most of the surrounding volcanic features. It is believed that Kerið was a cone volcano which erupted and emptied its magma reserve. Once the magma was depleted, the weight of the cone collapsed into the empty magma chamber. The current pool of water at the bottom of the crater is at the same level as the water table and is not caused by rainfall

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