1. Diamond
Head, Hawaii, USA
Diamond
Head is the name of a volcanic tuff cone on the Hawaiian island of
Oʻahu. Its name was given by British sailors in the 19th century, who mistook
calcite crystals embedded in the rock for diamonds. This crater is a defining
feature of the view known to residents and tourists of Waikiki alike.
The volcanic ruff cone is a
United States State Monument. While part of it serves as a platform
for antennas used by the U.S. government and is closed to the public, the
crater's proximity to Honolulu's resort hotels and beaches makes the rest of it
a popular destination.
The interior was the home to
Fort Ruger, the first United States military reservation on
Hawaii. Only a National Guard facility remains in the crater. An FAA air traffic
control center was in operation from 1963 to 2001. [link, map]
2. Kelimutu,
Indonesia
Kelimutu is a volcano,
close to the small town of Moni in central Flores Island of Indonesia. The
volcano contains three striking summit crater lakes of varying colors. Tiwu Ata
Mbupu (Lake of Old People) is usually blue and is the westernmost of the three
lakes.
The other two lakes, Tiwu Nuwa Muri Koo
Fai (Lake of Young Men and Maidens) and Tiwu Ata Polo ( Enchanted Lake) are
separated by a shared crater wall and are typically green or red respectively.
The lake colors vary on a periodic basis. Subaqueous fumaroles are the probable
cause of active upwelling that occurs at the two eastern lakes.
The visitor is never quite sure what
color the lakes will be when they reach the top as they vary significantly.
Unlike other crater lakes where the color variation can be predicted, this is
not the case with these three lakes. The colors you see here are blue, green and
black (and they predominate) yet the lakes also change to white, red and blue
too. [link1, link2, map]
3. Crater
in Rocas
Bainbridge,Galapagos Islands,Ecuador
This wonderful islet is located
in Rocas Bainbridge - a chain of volcanic cones off the
southeastern coast of Santiago Island, Galapagos.
Turquoise lake nestled in the crater of this
extinct volcano is a
shallow saltwater lake. It
is a meeting place for a large number of flamingos, who come here
to feed. [map]
4. Xico,
Mexico
Xico
volcano sits at the extreme southern end of the Mexico City
megalopolis. For a geologically significant chunk of time, this area was
underwater, drowned by Lake Chalco. The lake began to dry out in the 1300s, and
Aztec fishermen settled along its coastline hereabouts. In the nineteenth
century, the government drained the lake entirely; the fishermen were awarded
communal land grants and told to become farmers.
Farming became intensive
in the 1970s, when corporate agriculturists and desperate landless peasants
struck illegal or quasi-legal deals with the communal organizations and wrested
control of the rich volcanic soil. Thousands and thousands of families poured
into the region, hoping for work. Farmers climbed over the rim of the volcano
and plowed fields inside the crater. Xico the town sprawled right up to the
ramparts of Xico the crater and appears likely to soon engulf it; in 2005, the
population of the municipality was 330,000. [link, map]
....
5. Molokini, Hawaii,
USA
Molokini is a
crescent-shaped, partially submerged volcanic crater which forms a small islet
located in Alalakeiki Channel between the islands of Maui and Kahoʻolawe, part
of Maui County in Hawaiʻi. It has an area of 23 acres (93,169 sq
m), a diameter of about 0.4 miles (0.6 km), and is located about 2.5 miles (4.0
km) west of Makena State Park and south of Maʻalaea Bay. It is a popular tourist
destination for scuba diving, snuba and snorkeling.
This place is one of the top 10
dive spots in the world. Molokini's crescent shape protects divers from
waves and the channel's powerful currents. The crater houses a lush reef with
excellent visibility as deep as 150 feet (46 m). Molokini is home to about 250
species of fish, many endemic. The islet is a Hawaiʻi State Seabird
Sanctuary. [link, map]
6. Seongsan
Ilchulbong, South Korea
Seongsan Ilchulbong, also
called ‘Sunrise Peak’, is an archetypal tuff cone formed by hydrovolcanic
eruptions upon a shallow seabed about 4 thousand years ago.
Situated on the eastern seaboard of
Jeju Island and said to resemble a gigantic ancient castle, this tuff cone is
182 meters (600 ft) high, has a preserved bowl-like crater and also displays
diverse inner structures resulting from the sea cliff.
These features are considered to be of
geologic worth, providing information on eruptive and depositional processes of
hydromagmatic volcanoes worldwide as well as past volcanic activity of Seongsan
Ilchulbong itself. This volcanic crater has a lush vegetation and is home to 6
rare plant species. [link, map]
7. Nabiyotum Crater,
Kenya
Nabiyotum Crater is located in the
south of Lake Turkana in Kenya - the world's largest alkaline lake. Because of
its beautiful and unusual appearance, this crater represents a geological wonder
of the lake. [map]
8. Aogashima,
Japan
Aogashima is a volcanic
Japanese island in the Philippine Sea, administered by Tokyo and located
approximately 358 kilometres (222 mi) south of Tokyo. It is the southernmost and
most isolated inhabited island of the Izu archipelago.
The biggest attraction is
Aogashima’s double volcano. The island itself is a giant volcanic
crater, and within that crater there’s another, smaller volcano.
 |
| The smaller cone is
located within the larger volcanic cone link |
Aogashima is a complex volcanic island
3.5 km (2.2 mi) in length with a maximum width of 2.5 km (1.55 mi). The island
is surrounded by very steep rugged cliffs of layered volcanic deposits. The
southern coast also rises to a sharp ridge forming one edge of a caldera named
Ikenosawa with a diameter of 1.5 km (0.9 mi). The caldera dominates the island,
with one point on its southern ridge, Otonbu with a height of 423 metres (1,388
ft), as the island’s highest point. The caldera is occupied by a secondary cone
named Maruyama.
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| One part of the
village is located in the crater link |
The village of Aogashima
administers the island under Hachijō Subprefecture of Tokyo Metropolis. As of
2009, the island's population was 205. Aogashima is also within the boundaries
of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. [link, map]9. Santa
Margarida Volcano, Spain
The Santa Margarida
Volcano is a volcano in the comarca of Garrotxa, Catalonia, Spain. The
volcano has a perimeter of 2 kilometers (1.25 mi) and a height of 682 meters
(2.240 ft) and is part of the Garrotxa Volcanic Zone Natural Park. The hermitage
of Santa Margarida, after which the volcano was named, is inside the crater of
the volcano. The building was destroyed in 1428 during the 1428 Catalonia
earthquake and rebuilt in 1865.
Situated in the center of a dormant
volcano in Catalonia, the crater seems to open up to reveal
a tiny stone shack. There is not a single building in the depressed area, just
the hermitage. Covered in dense vegetation on all sides, the shack is bizarrely
situated on flat arid land in the middle of the formation.
The region is well known for its
volcanic zone and is regularly visited, but there is almost no information on
the hermitage. Travelers can only hope the volcano doesn't suddenly erupt,
leaving the world with no knowledge and no remains of this unusual site. [link1, link2, map]10. Koko
Crater, Hawaii, USA
Koko Crater is a massive
cinder cone that visually dominates the area of Koko Head - the headland that
defines the eastern side of Maunalua Bay along the southeastern side of the
Island of Oʻahu in Hawaiʻi.
Within the crater are horse stables and
the Koko Crater Botanical Garden specializing in cacti and
succulents. Botanical
garden has an area of 60 acres. The hot, dry climate here makes this
garden the ideal location for the dryland collections of the Honolulu Botanical
Gardens. [link1, link2, map]
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