There are more than 350 volcanoes in the Vulkaneifel; over 100 of these are in the form of "maars" and 12 maars have a maar lake, including the Eichholzmaar. With a diameter of 120 meters and a maximum depth of 3 meters, the Eichholzmaar is one of the smaller Eifel maars.

The Eichholzmaar near Steffeln

There are more than 350 volcanoes in the Volcanic Eifel; over 100 of these are in the form of "maars" and 12 maars have a maar lake, including the Eichholzmaar. With a diameter of 120 meters and a maximum depth of 3 meters, the Eichholzmaar is one of the smaller Eifel maars.

What exactly is a maar?

When hot magma emerges from the depths of the earth to the surface, a volcano is formed which spews molten lava and gradually builds up a volcanic cone. However, if the rising lava at a temperature of 1200°C hits groundwater just a few hundred meters below the earth's surface, a huge steam explosion occurs. The surrounding rock and the rising lava are shattered and ejected, and a funnel is blasted into the earth's surface. Such funnels blasted into the earth's crust by volcanic activity are called "maars".

What the Eichholz maar tells us!

The circular shape and the geophysical evidence of a funnel-shaped structure with steeply dipping edges prove that we are looking at a maar that was blasted into the Devonian sandstone thousands of years ago. A 23 m deep core drilling by the Institute of Physical Geography at the University of Frankfurt has revealed a sequence of ice-age debris deposits and more recent, warm-age lake deposits. The change from the last cold period to the warm period, which continues to this day, is also indicated by the change from birch and pine vegetation to vegetation dominated by hazel, oak and elm. The lake sediments and the fen peat at a depth of 6 - 7 meters, which are approx. 9,300 years old, also give a clear indication of constant water coverage or water saturation and air exclusion. Volcanic ash from the almost 13,000-year-old Laacher See eruption, the most devastating volcanic eruption in recent geological history in the Eifel, has been found at a depth of around 12 meters. Our Eichholzmaar is therefore a unique archive for the recent climate and settlement history of the region.

The maar lake still existed until the middle of the 19th century. At the end of the 19th century, the lake was drained by means of deep drainage ditches in order to create farmland and meadows. In 2007, the drainage ditches were backfilled and the lake was restored to its former state.