Sangumburi CraterClaimed by the owner

Sangumburi is a volcanic crater on Jeju Island with a rim more than 2 kilometers around. It is designated a natural monument. Unlike Jeju's roughly 360 other parasitic volcanoes, which all have a bowl-like shape formed by lava or ash eruption, Sangumburi formed when an explosion blew out the surrounding rock without releasing lava or ash, leaving only the hollow behind. This type of volcano is called a maar, and Sangumburi is the only one of its kind in Korea and one of very few in the world.

Plant Life Inside the Crater

Because the crater floor has many cracks that let water drain away completely, the vegetation inside is distributed in an unusual pattern shaped by elevation and sunlight. The sunlit north-facing slope supports a warm-temperate zone of evergreen broadleaf trees, including red oak (bulgasi-namu), machilus, and Neolitsea, along with an understory of rarer plants. The shadier south-facing slope instead holds a temperate zone of deciduous trees, including sawtooth oak, dogwood, and maple.

Wildlife and Rare Plant Communities

The crater also preserves plant communities that are hard to find elsewhere, including stands of Ligustrum ovalifolium, Orixa japonica, and Jeju bamboo, along with colonies of Adonis amurensis and Eranthis byunsanensis. It is known as a habitat for mammals such as roe deer and badgers, as well as birds and reptiles. In spring, clouds sometimes form at the bottom of the crater and rise upward, and wildflowers such as asters, Liriope, gentians, and Parnassia bloom through the seasons.