About Wilcza Góra
Werewolf (367 m a.s.l.) is a unique basalt hill near Złotoryja in the northern part of the Kaczawskie Foothills and one of the symbols of the Land of Extinct Volcanoes. It is known for its well-developed columnar (thermal) joint formed during cooling of lava. The relative height is approximately 100 m.
Geological history
The age of Werewolf’s basalts was determined by the method of radiometric dating at 20 million years old (+/- 1 million), that is the Early Miocene, but the varied system of basalt columns indicates that the volcanic activity was certainly multistage. Today, Werewolf is a volcanic neck, that is a fragment of the former volcanic chimney, built from solididied lava in the feeding conduit to the already non-existent volcanic cone.
Extraction activity
The hill was significantly transformed by the extraction activity. The older quarry was located on the western side of the culmination and was extracted at the turn of 19th and 20th century. In 1959, an inanimate nature reserve “Wilcza Góra” with an area of 1,69 ha was created in the former working. The wall height reaches 30 m, and apart from differently oriented column sets, also pyroclastic formations containing xenoliths of sanstone rocks of Cretaceous bed-rock are visible.
The eastern part of the hill is now a deep working of the closed quarry, perfectly presenting the cross section of the former volcanic chimeny. Especially interesting are undisturbed sections of basalt columns which are vertical, a concentric system of fractures known as the “basalt rosette” and basalt dikes intersecting the sandstone.
Description: Piotr Migoń
Visiting
Since 2023, the place is available for tourists. You’ll find many information boards describing the place on site. There are available benches, sheds and a place for a bonfire.
