Maar

maar

[mär]

(geology)

A volcanic crater that was created by violent explosion but not accompanied by igneous extrusion; frequently, it is filled by a small circular lake.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Maar

 

a funnel-shaped or cylindrical depression of volcanic origin, formed on the earth’s surface during a single gas explosion not accompanied by the extrusion of lava. They are up to 3,200 m across and 300-400 m deep. Maars are often ringed by ridges made up of fragments of rock shattered by the gases. In wet climates maars often fill with water and form lakes, for example, the Laacher See in the Eifel massif (Federal Republic of Germany) and Lakes Pavin and La Godivelle in Auvergne, France.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.