Basaltic cover accounts for more than half of Dak Nong province, of which 85-90% was formed during volcanic eruptions approximately one to several million years ago, while the rest was formed just several ten thousand years. The upper part of most of this basaltic cover has been weathered into the red soil, very fertile for industrial crops. However young basalt is not yet completely weathered and one may find them near young volcanoes in the Dak Nong UNESCO Global Geopark territory e.g. Nam Blang, Nam Kar, Nam Gle, Bang Mo etc., in the form of “lava fields”, totalling in area c.100km2.
This geosite is such a field, c.5km2 in area, originating from Nam Kar volcano.
Most of volcanic products e.g. ash, scoria, dust, bomb etc. were formed during the early episodes of eruption. When falling they were scattered around the volcano. During later episodes, the lava became more moveable it spewed out to form lava flows, more or less in one direction and further away from the volcano, resulting in the pahoehoe lava field, similar to what is now happening in Hawaii (U.S), but at a smaller scale.
The lava field associated with the Nam Kar volcano consists of numerous lava boulders scattered on the ground surface, being what is left from a former lava flow subjected to subsequent erosion and wash away. As the lava is not completely yet weathered, the field is not as favorable for cultivation as other areas of older basalt.
