Pseudocrater
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A pseudocrater is a volcanic phenomenon.
When hot lava is running over a wet surface, whether a swamp, a lake, or a pond, the event produces explosive gases. These break through the lava surface in an explosion (a phreatic eruption), and the tephra builds up crater-like forms which can be very similar to real volcanic craters. These forms are also called rootless cones. They are characterised by not having a root, a magma channel which would connect them to the inner core of the earth.
Well known examples are found in Iceland like the craters in the lake Mývatn (Skútusstaðirgígar), the Rauðhólar in the region of the capital city Reykjavík or the Landbrotshólar in the southeast of Iceland.
Pseudocraters were also discovered on Mars, which would suggest that there was once water on that planet.
[edit] See also
[edit] External link
- Pseudocraters and Mars (PDF file)
