Komorní hůrka
General Characteristics
County (administration):
Karlovarský kraj
District (town):
Cheb
Village:
Cheb, Františkovy Lázně
Cadastre:
Klest, Slatina u Františkových Lázní, Skalka u Chebu
Map sheets:
11-14 Cheb, 11-143 Cheb
Accessibility:
no traffic restriction ( by car)
Technical object:
guarry
ID:
1430
Geology
Short characteristics of the site:
Volcanic hill of a stratovolcano type in the Tertiary Cheb Basin, with an abandoned quarry on the eastern slope. The quarry displays loose tuffs with basaltic bombs up to 0.5 m in length and xenoliths of granite and metamorphic rocks. A gallery was mined in hard basaltic rock in the early 19th century to confirm volcanic origin of the hill. At these times, the hill was visited by many famous naturalists, e.g. J.W. Goethe or Berzelius. It is the youngest volcanic hill in Bohemia, dated to 250 to 400 thousand years. Porcellanites are locally developed. Komorní hůrka Hill, played a crucial role during the controversy between Plutonists and Neptunists over the origin of rocks in the first half of the nineteenth century. This debate ended in 1837 when at the instigation of J.W. Goethe adits were dug into this volcano. It was the first large earth-works with a solely scientific goal and with no commercial mining purposes. The basaltic feeder exposed in the adits decided definitively in favour of the Plutonists after decades of ongoing arguments with the Neptunists.
Regional geologic unit:
Bohemian Massif > Quaternary > Quaternary volcanism of Bohemian Massif
Stratigraphy:
Quaternary
Subject:
geology, volcanology, history
Geological phenomenon:
stratovolcano, lava, lava flow, volcaniclastic deposits
Genesis:
volcanic
Rock:
tuff, basaltoid (basaltic-rock), porcelanite
Territorial protection
Level of protection:
National nature monument
Additional information:
See the Digital register of the Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic AOPK ČR, code 182 (Komorní hůrka)
Part of national geopark:
Egeria
Conflicts of interests:
estates
References
- Babůrek J., Rohrmueller J. (2001): Landschaft und Geologie zwischen Marktredwitz und Sokolov.- In: 2. Marktredwitzer Bodenschutztage, p. 135-138, Marktredwitz. Hradecký P. (1994): Volcanology of Železná and Komorní hůrka in western Bohemia.- Věst. Čes. geol. Úst., 69, 2, p. 89-92.
- Rapprich V. et al. (2019): A Crucial Site in the Argument Between Neptunists and Plutonists: Reopening of the Historical Adit in the Komorní hůrka (Kammerbühl) Volcano After 180 Years, Geoheritage (2019) 11:347–358, https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-018-0286-z
Elaboration and Updating
Elaborated by:
Petr Hrazdíra, 05.12.2002
Updated by:
Gürtlerová Pavla, 22.06.2007, Gürtlerová Pavla, 10.11.2008, Hrazdíra Petr, 15.09.2009
Citation
The database Important geological localities of the Czech Republic: 1430 [online]. Prague: Czech Geological Survey, 1998 [cit. 2023-06-16]. Available from: https:// lokality.geology.cz/1430.
Location in map:
Assessment
Scientifical assesment:
extraordinary
Educational assesment:
major
Significance:
national
Representativeness:
major
Geological importance:
significant study profile, geo-historical value, geoturistic value
Excursion locality:
yes
Locality conditions:
no problems
You can send information about a change in the status of the site to lokality@geology.cz
