Rauðhólar

64.095277777778 - 21.755277777778Koordinaten: 64 ° 5 ' 43 "N, 21 ° 45' 19 " W

The Rauðhólar (Eng. " red hill " ) are a group of pseudo craters in the Icelandic capital community Reykjavíkurborg.

Geography

The hills are located in the recreation area Heiðmörk just west of Hringvegur just outside the urban area of ​​Reykjavík.

Volcanism

The crater formed during volcanic eruptions in the volcanic system of Brennisteinsfjöll about 4,700 years ago.

The lavas flowed from the mountain range of the Bláfjöll down into the plain, formed the lava field Leitahraun and covered it a wetland. Several lava tubes, as, among other things Buri ( cave ) are located here.

The coincidence of hot lava with water triggered phreatomagmatic explosions, which were formed the pseudo craters. With them is a group of slag and weld spatter cones, which covers an area of about 1.2 km2. A map of 1912 shows the original extent of the field and the shape of the crater, the largest of at least 212 m mustered in diameter. He rose 22 m above the plateau consisting of slag of about 5 m thickness and a 7 m thick layer of lava.

The damage to the crater brought to light the interior. As it can be seen that the individual crater structures for a long time in a series of explosions.

The red color of the crater can be explained by a high content of iron.

Developments in the area

The group originally consisted of 150 pseudo- craters. Of these, however, there is only one part, and numerous craters were also heavily damaged. This is explained by years of material removal, especially for road construction and construction of the airport of Reykjavik by the Allies during the Second World War. Since 1962, the craters are protected. The area belongs to the Heiðmörk.