Wingertsbergwand, Wingertsberg, Mendig, Mendig, Mayen-Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germanyi

Regional Level Types
Wingertsbergwand	Exposure
Wingertsberg	Volcano (Extinct)
Mendig	Municipality
Mendig	Collective Municipality
Mayen-Koblenz	District
Rhineland-Palatinate	State
Germany	Country

Wingertsbergwand, Wingertsberg, Eifel Volcanic Fields, Germany

The Wingertsbergwand is a beautiful exposure of volcanic rocks. It is a natural monument and, therefore, collecting is strictly forbidden.

A visit to the nearby Vulkanpark is recommended: https://www.vulkanpark.com/

About 12,900 years ago, the Laacher See volcano, about 2 kilometers north of today's Wingertsbergwand, erupted within a few days. Only the final phase probably took several months. The most powerful volcanic eruption in recent earth history in Central Europe ejected around 6.5 km³ of volcanic material. The eruption was not uniform, but rather extremely complex. The different eruption mechanisms led to different deposits of volcanic rock and these are visible today at the outcrop of the Wingertsbergwand.

The lowest layers of deposits contain particles that were carried away when they broke through the earth's surface, such as gravel, clays, basalts from older volcanic cones and charcoal from uprooted trees.

In the main Plinian phase, an eruption column initially rose up to 30 kilometers high and led to fall deposits of pumice, also known as “fallout”. The pumice layer is repeatedly riddled with bombs up to 4 meters in diameter, as the eruption broke through older lava flows and threw the rock up to 2 kilometers through the air. This is followed by dark bands of shale rich in foreign rock, which indicate that the eruption had changed: the crater walls had collapsed, and the vent had shifted. In the further course, glow avalanches emerged, pyroclastic flows, which are responsible for light-coloured deposits, ignimbrites. In valleys such as the Krufter Bachtal, the deposits from the ember avalanches reached a thickness of around 30 meters. This was followed by the highest Plinian eruption column of the entire eruption. The pillar rose more than 30 kilometers high and produced particularly large amounts of pumice. The fall deposits are visible on the Wingertsbergwand as a so-called “highway”, a striking, regular double layer of fall deposits.

After a long break, the final phase of the outbreak followed, which probably lasted several months. Repeated phreatomagmatic eruptions with base surges and ember avalanches resulted in dune-like gray deposits over 15 meters thick.

The Wingertsbergwand, a landscape monument in the volcano park, is one of the “national geotopes” in Germany. It is of great international importance for volcanologists. Their exploration and decipherment contributed to the explanation of volcanic phenomena worldwide. The wall was again examined in detail between 2012 and 2014 by qualified geologist Cornelia Park in collaboration with volcanologist Hans-Ulrich Schmincke. Their latest research results were taken up by Vulkanpark GmbH and the research department for volcanology, archeology and history of technology in Mayen, a branch of the Roman-Germanic Central Museum in Mainz, and are the basis for the information boards on site. The panels explain in detail the eruption of the Laacher See volcano and the resulting structure of the wall. The geopath is freely accessible to visitors.

Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wingertsbergwand
Wikidata ID:	Q19311796

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