Mount Gambier (volcano)

The Blue Lake, one of Maarseen of Mount Gambier

Mount Gambier is a maar complex in the Newer Volcanics Province near the town of Mount Gambier in South Australia. The complex consists of the four crater lakes: Blue Lake, Valley Lake, Leg of Mutton Lake and Browne 's Lake. He is one of the youngest volcanoes in Australia and was established about 4,900 years ago.

The emergence of Mount Gambier is like that of the nearby Mount Schank returned to the East Australia hotspot, which probably is now under the sea. The area of Mount Gambier is part of the Supported by UNESCO Geopark Kanawinka.

Of the original four existing Maarseen still exist today two. The named because of its shape Leg of Mutton Lake ( Schafsbeinsee ) fell dry in the 1960s, just as the Browne 's Lake a few years later. Both lakes were fairly flat, its drying is attributed to the lowering of ground water as a result of years of reclamation for securing grazing land in the area.

Blue Lake

The Blue Lake changes in the warmer months, his normally blue-gray color and assumes a deep blue color. The mechanism of the color change was a long time not fully understood. The phenomenon is due to an interplay between the built-up of algae turbidity of the water, the formation of a warm surface layer and the temperature-dependent precipitation of very small calcium carbonate particles, which reflect the blue light components greatly. They react beyond with the humic acids of organic remains and thus contribute to the clarification of the lake water.