Devil Mountain Lakes facts for kids

The Devil Mountain Lakes are the largest Maar lakes in the world.

Seward Peninsula with Devil Mountain Lakes at the top

Devil Mountain Lakes (Inupiaq: Qitiqłiik) is a maar (a form of crater lake) in the western part of Alaska. The lake is considered to be the largest maar in the world and is part of the Espenberg volcanic field.

Geography

Devil Mountain Lakes are located about 100 km (62 mi) southwest of Kotzebue on the northern part of the Seward Peninsula. The coordinates are 66°23′41″N 164°29′18″W / 66.39472°N 164.48833°W / 66.39472; -164.48833.

The crater lake has a diameter of about 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) and is part of the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve. Devil Mountain Lakes are rather unusual consisting of a double crater divided into North Devil Mountain Lake having a diameter of about 5.1 km (3.2 mi) and South Devil Mountain Lake having a diameter of about 3.4 km (2.1 mi).

There are several maars the Killeak Lakes (North Killeak maar and South Killeak maar) and White Fish Lake (Whitefish Maar) close by and the area is sometimes also called Espenberg Maars.

History

The lake was probably shaped during volcanic eruptions about 21000 years ago during the Pleistocene Ice Age as lava flows came through the permafrost creating violent underground explosions.

On December 1, 1978 the nature reserve was established as "Bering Land Bridge National Monument" changing the name on December 2, 1980 to "Bering Land Bridge National Preserve".