Question

Explain the following term:

Caldera

Answer 1

A caldera is a large, bowl-shaped depression that forms at the summit of a volcano after a major eruption. When a volcano erupts violently, it can empty its magma chamber so rapidly that the ground above collapses into the emptied space. This collapse creates a wide, sunken area much larger than a typical volcanic crater. Calderas can be several kilometers wide and may later fill with water to form lakes, such as Crater Lake in the USA.