2 stops in walking order

Historic Site

Ciomadul is a dormant volcano in Romania. It is in the Eastern Carpathians, between the spa towns of Băile Tușnad and Balvanyos. Ciomadul lies at the southeastern end of the Carpathian volcanic chain and it is the youngest volcano of the Carpatho-Pannonian region. Ciomadul consists of several lava domes with two embedded explosion craters known as Mohoș and Sfânta Ana, the latter of which contains a crater lake, Lake Sfânta Ana. The dominant volcanic rock at Ciomadul is potassium-rich dacite. Volcanic activity at Ciomadul commenced with effusive activity about one million years ago. Most of the volcano was constructed between 650,000 – 500,000 years ago. Between 56,000 and 32,000 years ago explosive volcanic activity occurred at Ciomadul.

~20 min at this stop

Lake

Lake Sfânta Ana is the only crater lake in Romania, located in the volcanic crater of the Ciomad volcano of the Eastern Carpathians, near Tușnad in the Natural Reserve of Mohoș, Harghita County, Romania. Palynology studies concluded that the history of Lake Saint Anne began about 9,800-8,800 years ago, at the stage of peat bog and shallow lake. The age of Lake Sfânta Ana has not yet been accurately determined, with various researchers estimating that the last eruption of the volcano in whose crater the lake is located, occurred 32,000 years ago (Juvigne et al. 1994), 10,500 years ago (Morya et al. 1996), or even 9,800 years ago (Magyari et al. 2006). Although that volcano is currently inactive, a 2019 study indicated that there is still a potential for reactivation in the future. The depth of Saint Anne Lake is constantly decreasing.

~20 min at this stop