Iztaccíhuatl
On the third highest mountain in Mexico with a magnificent view of Popocatépetl
Tag: subduction
Nevado de Toluca
Traverse of the crest of the fourth-highest mountain in Mexico with a view of two crater lakes
El Chichón
Hike to the green crater lake of the active volcano in Chiapas (Mexico)
Mayon
The perfectly shaped volcano from different angles (Luzon, Philippines)
Taal Volcano in Lake Taal
An explosive volcano near Manila and an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island in the sea.
A sample of the Moho
Since I don’t have any recent photos to show, here is a picture of a rock sample that has been lying around in my room for a long time. It is one of my favourite samples because I can torture every geoscientist who visits me with the question of what he sees here. Two different … Continue reading “A sample of the Moho”
Conguillio National Park and climbing Llaima
Hikes through rustic forests, up to the snow-covered Sierra Nevada past araucaria, views of lakes and the Llaima volcano, and finally an ascent of Llaima itself.
Villarrica and Huerquenes
A view into the crater of Villarrica and a hike to lakes and araucaria (lake district in Patagonia, Chile)
Puyehue
Tracing the latest volcanic eruption in Chile
Puerto Varas in the Lake District of Chile
The lake district with its green fields, dense rainforests, countless lakes of all sizes and towering volcanoes and mountain peaks (cf. The Formation of Mountains) is, so to speak, the southern end of civilisation in South America: a little further on, the sparsely populated wilderness of Patagonia begins. I fly to Puerto Montt and drive … Continue reading “Puerto Varas in the Lake District of Chile”
From Uyuni to San Pedro and ascent of Licancabur
Jeep tour (with an annoying group) through spectacular scenery: from Salar de Uyuni (Bolivia) via Laguna Colorada and Laguna Verde to San Pedro de Atacama (Chile) with ascent of the Licancabur volcano.
Alpamayo Trek
Trekking in the Cordillera Blanca in Peru: In 10 days around Alpamayo and its beautiful neighbours
Tungurahua and Baños
Hot springs, waterfalls and an active volcano (Ecuador)
Climbing Cotopaxi
Cotopaxi National Park in Ecuador: climb Cotopaxi and hike on Rumiñahui
Laguna Quilotoa
Picturesque caldera with “crater lake” in Ecuador
Guatemala
How pleasant to be met by Marta at the airport! We spend the first night in Guatemala City, a chaotic metropolis with broken, crowded streets, street kids, …. In a minibus we drive down from the coffee town of Coban through beautiful tropical karst landscape. In a village with a colourful market, more and more … Continue reading “Guatemala”
Bali
Ascent of Gunung Agun and various temples, lakes, volcanoes and rice fields
Kawah Ijen
This volcano is situated in the very east of Java. The crater is filled by a greenish sulphuric acid lake. A huge sulphur body has formed near the shore, brown hot sulphuric steam rises hissing. When the wind carries the cloud towards you, breathing is almost impossible, the acid bites your eyes and nose. Some … Continue reading “Kawah Ijen”
Bromo and Semeru
Volcanoes in the East of Java: Views into the Tengger Caldera with the steaming Bromo and ascent of the active Semeru with up-close ash eruptions
Merapi
On the volcano with active lava dome (Java, Indonesia)
Toba
Lake in a caldera on Sumatra (Indonesia)
Zermatt-Saas Ophiolite (excursion)
The rocks of the Zermatt-Saas zone are an ophiolite, i.e. originally oceanic lithosphere (of the Penninic Ocean, the deep-sea basin of the Alpine Tethys). However, the unit is highly deformed, so that the normal sequence of serpentinite (mantle), gabbro, basalt and sediments cannot be found in one piece. Furthermore, they were metamorphosed (eclogite facies, retrograde … Continue reading “Zermatt-Saas Ophiolite (excursion)”
Excursion: Volcanism Southern Italy
More than 2 m of pumice was deposited on the first day of the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius. The weight caused roofs of buildings to collapse, but people died in the pyroclastic flows (surges) that came down the mountain towards the end of the eruption. A caldera formed during the eruption, and Mt. Somma … Continue reading “Excursion: Volcanism Southern Italy”
Santorini
Geological excursion: explosive volcanism in the Mediterranean (Greece)