Schalkenmehrener Maar

The Schalkenmehrener Maar is a maar roughly 3 km (1.9 mi) southeast of the town of Daun in the Eifel in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

Schalkenmehrener Maar
Aerial view of Schalkenmehrener Maar, 2024
Schalkenmehrener Maar
Location	Daun, Rhineland-Palatinate
Coordinates	50°10′10″N 6°51′29″E
Type	Maar
Etymology	Schalkenmehren, Germany
Part of	Daun Maar Group
Basin countries	Germany
Max. length	554 m (1,818 ft)
Max. width	502 m (1,647 ft)
Average depth	21 m (69 ft)
Max. depth	90 m (300 ft)
Surface elevation	420 m (1,380 ft)
Location

It is one of the Daun Maars (Dauner Maare) or Daun Maar Group and is a double maar, comprising a western maar lake and an eastern dry maar. Both were formed around 10,500 years ago as the result of a phreatomagmatic explosion during the Würm Ice Age.^[1] The lake in the western part of the maar varies between 552 and 502 m (1,811 and 1,647 ft) in diameter and is up to 21 m (69 ft) deep. The height of the maar above sea level is 420 m (1,380 ft) (average elevation of the water surface). It fills the more recent of the 2 maar basins. The eastern part of the maar is occupied by a raised bog.

Botanically, three different zones can be distinguished: the shore area, the raised bog and the slopes of the maar basin. In the shore area, as well as the reeds there are communities of yellow iris, white water-lily, yellow loosestrife, purple loosestrife and club-rush. The slopes of the maar basin are dominated by a mix of dry grassland and woodland edge vegetation. In addition to Breckland thyme and oregano, there is restharrow, hare's-foot clover, hop trefoil, narrow-leaved everlasting pea, musk mallow, clustered bellflower, downy hemp-nettle, fox and cubs, brown knapweed, greater knapweed, small scabious, woodruff and large communities of rosebay willow-herb. Neophytes that may be seen include garden lupins and large-flowered mountain trumpets.

Panorama of the maar

The Schalkenmehrener Maar near Daun