caldera

noun

cal·de·ra kal-ˈder-ə

kȯl-,

-ˈdir-

: a volcanic crater that has a diameter many times that of the vent and is formed by collapse of the central part of a volcano or by explosions of extraordinary violence

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A large, bowl-shaped volcanic depression, a caldera forms when the top of a volcanic cone collapses into the space left after magma is ejected during a violent volcanic eruption. Its diameter is many times that of the original vent. The term is Spanish for "caldron." Subsequent minor eruptions may build small cones on the floor of the caldera, and the caldera may still later fill up with water; an example of this is Crater Lake in Oregon.

Examples of caldera in a Sentence

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The caldera is the enormous volcanic crater left from the last time Yellowstone experienced a giant eruption, 640,000 years ago. —

Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY, 1 Jan. 2025 Roughly 400 acres of the caldera floor was covered in lava, according to the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. —

Cara Tabachnick, CBS News, 27 Dec. 2024 We were based in the town of Imerovigli, across the bay from Oia, but with equally dramatic caldera views. —

Flora Stubbs, Travel + Leisure, 5 Aug. 2024 Kilauea frequently erupts, having done so six times since 2020, all within the caldera. —

David Faris, Newsweek, 18 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for caldera