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Bering Land Bridge National Preserve:
Past Volcanic Activity
There
are many geological features in the Bering Land Bridge National
Preserve. Some features are associated with volcanic activity. They
are: Maar Lakes, Serpentine Hot Springs, and the Lost Jim Lava Flow.
The Maar Lakes
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve contains the largest maar lakes
in the world. These lakes are the Devil Mountain Lakes, Killiak
Lakes, and White Fish Lake. Earth movements such as volcanoes, erosion,
deposition, or erosion and deposition form lakes. Maar lakes are
formed by volcanoes that erupt and form craters. The craters fill
up with water from rain and snowmelt and create maar lakes.
Serpentine Hot Springs
Serpentine Hot Springs is a significant geothermal resource set
in a strikingly scenic valley where granite tors (chimney-like rock
formations) rise to 100 feet. The hot springs were formed when surface
water or spring water seeps into the ground and is heated by hot
rocks. As the water heats up it rises to the surface and forms a
pool or hot spring. The water in the Serpentine pool is between
140 and 170 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Lost Jim Lava Flow
The Lost Jim Lava Flow is an 88 square mile pahoehoe flow. A pahoehoe
flow is a flow where the top layer of lava cools and the bottom
layer still flows. Pahoehoe lava looks like wrinkles with fast flowing
lava beneath it. The Lost Jim Lava Flow is a recent flow; it is
young in geologic time, only 1,000 to 2,000 years old.
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