View source for Kerið

{{Short description|Volcanic crater lake in Iceland}}
{{redirect|Kerith|the biblical stream|Chorath}}
{{Infobox landform
| name            = Kerið
| native_name     = 
| other_name      = 
| type            = Volcanic crater
| photo           = A girl standing on top of Kerið.jpg
| photo_width     = 
| photo_alt       = 
| photo_caption   = 
| map             = Iceland
| map_width       = 
| map_caption     = Location in Iceland
| map_alt         = 
| map_relief      = 
| label           = Kerið
| label_position  = 
| mark            = 
| marker_size     = 
| mapframe        = 
| coordinates     = {{coord|64.041|N|20.885|W|dim:1000_region:IS|display=inline,title}}
| coords_ref      = 
| location        = South Iceland
| formed_by       = 
| geology         = 
| width           = 170 meters
| depth           = 55 meters
}}

'''Kerið''' ({{IPA|is|ˈcʰɛːrɪθ}}; also '''Kerith''' or '''Kerid''') is a volcanic [[Volcanic crater lake|crater lake]] located in the [[Grímsnes]] area in south [[Iceland]], along the [[Golden Circle (Iceland)|Golden Circle]].<ref name="Schroder1990">{{cite book |last=Schroder |first=Hasse |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Iceland/DJFd0AEACAAJ?hl=en |title=Iceland: More than Sagas |publisher=Schroders Ord & Bildbyra AB |year=1990 |isbn=9789197148511 |location=Uppsala |pages=224 |language=English |quote=After a while you come to an old lava bed on route 35. On this stretch of road you will find lake Kerið on the right side located in an explosion crater. The road ends in Selfoss, a commercial center with less than 4000 inhabitants. |access-date=2025-01-21}}</ref> It is one of several crater lakes in the area, known as Iceland's Western Volcanic Zone, which includes the [[Reykjanes|Reykjanes peninsula]] and the [[Langjökull|Langjökull Glacier]], created as the land moved over a localized [[Hotspot (geology)|hotspot]], but it is the one that has the most visually recognizable [[caldera]] still intact. The site is a popular area for tourists in Iceland.  

== Geology ==
Kerið is the northernmost of four craters situated along an 800-meter fissure called the Tjarnarhólar [[Help:IPA/Icelandic|[ˈtʰja(r)tnarˌhouːlar̥]]] row.{{snf|Jakobsson|1966|p=6}} It was formed through explosive volcanic activity (classified as a [[maar]]) and is elliptical, measuring approximately {{convert|55|m|ft|abbr=on}} deep, {{convert|170|m|ft|abbr=on}} wide, and {{convert|270|m|ft|abbr=on}} across. The wall of the crater consists of [[basalt]], formed following the cooling of lava, and [[scoria]]. Sources differ as to when the explosion occurred that created the crater, ranging from 6,420 years ago<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lorenz |first=V. |last2=Mcbirney |first2=A. R. |last3=Williams |first3=H. |date=1970-04-01 |title=An investigation of volcanic depressions. Part 3: Maars, tuff-rings, tuff-cones, and diatremes |url=https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/19720005646 |journal=NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server |language=en |quote="Kerid lies at the northern end of a northeast-trending crater group, 1 km. long, from which cinders and lavas were erupted more than 6420 years ago.}}</ref> to 9,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite book |last=Gudmundsson |first=Agust |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-55152-4 |title=The Glorious Geology of Iceland's Golden Circle |date=2017 |publisher=Springer International Publishing |isbn=9783319551524 |location=Cham, Switzerland |pages=119 |quote=Kerid, which is primarily a depression, formed in an eruption some 9 thousand years ago. |access-date=21 January 2025}}</ref>

While most of the crater is steep-walled with little vegetation, one wall is sloped more gently and blanketed with a deep moss. The sloped wall can be descended easily. The lake at the bottom of the crater is fairly shallow (6–14 meters, depending on the level of [[groundwater]]); due to minerals from the soil, the water appears [[Aquamarine (color)|aquamarine]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Eriksson |first=Karin |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/100_Geosites_in_South_Iceland/P_AXAAAACAAJ?hl=en |title=100 Geosites in South Iceland |publisher=Pjaxi |year=2005 |isbn=9979783109 |location=Reykjavík |page=34 |quote="The depth of the lake varies between 6 and 14 m during the year, reflecting the groundwater level." |access-date=10 January 2025}}</ref> Researchers have identified 10 taxa of zooplankton in the lake, primarily from the [[Rotifer|Rotifera]] phylum.<ref name="Evtimova2014">Evtimova, Vesela; Pandourski, Ivan; Apostolov, Apostol. "First study on the zooplankton of the Kerid (Kerið) Crater Lake, Iceland." ''ZooNotes'', vol. 55, 2014, pp. 1–3.</ref>

==Tourism==
The land on which the crater sits is owned by a private company, Arctic Adventures, which bought the site in 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Pomrenke |first=Erik |date=2023-10-16 |title=Tour Operator Arctic Adventures Buys Kerið Crater |url=https://www.icelandreview.com/news/tour-operator-arctic-adventures-buys-kerid-crater/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=Iceland Review |language=en-US}}</ref> The company charges an entrance fee to see the crater of 600 [[Icelandic króna|ISK]] ({{As of|2025|01|lc=y|url=https://kerid.is/}}).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kerið Crater Official Website - A Geological Wonder of Iceland |url=https://kerid.is/ |access-date=2025-01-21 |website=Kerið Volcanic Crater |language=en-US |quote=To visit Kerid crater and lake, you need to pay a small entrance fee of 600 KR.}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center">
File:Kerid-02-Krater-1980-gje.jpg|Kerið in April 1980
File:Kerið, frozen.JPG|Kerið frozen over in early April
File:Kerid-grimsnes.jpg|Kerið in September
File:Kerid.jpg|Kerið in April
File:Kerid 1.jpg|Kerið in August
File:Kerið.JPG|Kerið
File:Kerið crater lake, Iceland - Eric Marchese.jpg|Kerið
File:Kerið.jpg|Kerið in early March
File:Iceland-Kerid2-July 2000.jpg|Tourists on the edge of Kerið in July
File:Iceland-Kerid1-July 2000.jpg|Kerið in July
File:Kerið panoramic.jpg|alt=
</gallery>

==References==
<references/>

==Sources==
*{{cite journal|last1 =Jakobsson|first1 =S.P.|year =1966|title =The Grimsnés Lavas SW-Iceland|journal = Acta Naturalia Islandica|volume =II|issue=6|publisher =Náttúrufraedistofnun Íslands/Museum rerum naturalium Reyknavikensis|url =https://utgafa.ni.is/Acta-Naturalia-Islandica/Acta-Naturalia-Islandica-II-6.pdf|access-date=8 May 2024|pages =5–35}}

== External links ==
[http://kerid.is/ Kerið Crater official site]

{{Commons}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kerid}}
[[Category:Volcanoes of Iceland]]
[[Category:Volcanic crater lakes]]
[[Category:Dormant volcanoes]]
[[Category:South Iceland Seismic Zone]]
[[Category:Calderas of Iceland]]