Geopark Vulkaneifel

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Windsborn Crater Lake Outsider Among the Maars

The title is not quite accurate because Windsborn is not a maar at all. It is the only crater lake in the Eifel and north of the Alps that is constantly filled with water. Unlike maars, it is not a hollow form blasted into the original terrain but rather the eruptive crater of a volcanic mountain.

It is exclusively fed by precipitation. The lake water has a yellowish color and is slightly acidic with a pH value of 5-6. Scientifically, it is referred to as a dystrophic brownwater lake. The current lake has a belt of sedge meadows, fever clover, and bog bean and is slowly silting up from the outside in.

Geology

The Windsborn slag cone near Bettenfeld belongs to the Mosenberg row volcano group and is the fourth eruption site seen from the SE. It is separated from the other eruption sites by a distinct terrain depression and rises about 50 meters above the Devonian basement. Its crater now contains a lake with a siltation zone, surrounded by a rampart of slag. These were ejected glowing-hot from the volcano and then fused together as they cooled.

Special Features

Clearly visible around the lake are the slag deposits from which the mountain is piled up. The lake, with its siltation zone, is a special habitat for many rare plants and insects. In May/June, the fever clover produces countless white flowers on the lake's edge, and in June/July, the red-flowering bog bean delights us. Together with peat mosses, these plants, with their runner shoots, form a wide carpet that grows from the shore out onto the water surface of the lake. In the long run, the crater lake will silt up from the outside in and develop into a raised bog. In suitable weather, you can observe countless dragonflies and butterflies.

Location

Windsborn Crater Lake is located east of Bettenfeld.

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Highlights Nearby

• Hinkelsmaar
• Meerfelder Maar
• Volcano Adventure Park Mosenberg
• Observation Tower Landesblick
• Manderscheid Castles
• Maar Museum Manderscheid
• Dreisborn

The Mosenberg with Windsborn Crater Lake is point 37 of the German Volcano Road.

Directions & Parking

East of Bettenfeld on the L16, there is a hiking parking lot between Windsborn Crater Lake and Hinkelsmaar.