The collapse of a volcano's summit into a large, roughly circular depression after a magma chamber beneath it empties rapidly during a major eruption, removing the support that held the overlying rock up. Calderas can span many kilometres across, as at Yellowstone and Crater Lake, and often host later, smaller volcanic activity within the collapsed basin.
Facts
Process Type Timescalea rare event, occurring only a few times within a 100-year window worldwide 1 First Proposed Year Timescale
Timescale (category) Connections
Associated With
Caused By
Shaped
Source Caldera - Wikipedia
Source Crater Lake (Wikipedia)
Source Lake Taupo (Wikipedia)
Source Lake Toba (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Caldera - Wikipedia
Caldera formation section, rarity of caldera-forming events
Compared to the thousands of volcanic eruptions that occur over the course of a century, the formation of a caldera is a rare event, occurring only a few times within a given window of 100 years.
Etymology section
The term caldera was introduced into the geological vocabulary by the German geologist Leopold von Buch when he published his memoirs of his 1815 visit to the Canary Islands,
Caldera formation section, magma chamber collapse mechanism
The ejection of large volumes of magma in a short time can upset the integrity of a magma chamber's structure by in effect removing much of the chamber's filling material.
Shaped: Caldera, Lead paragraph
A caldera ( kawl-DERR-ə, kal-) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption.
View the Source2. Volcano - Wikipedia
Introduction sectionQuote, Introduction section
On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging
Lake Taupo (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationShaped: Lake Taupo, Lead paragraphQuote, Shaped: Lake Taupo, Lead paragraph
Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; Māori: Taupō-nui-a-Tia or Taupōmoana) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of Taupō Volcano.
Lake Toba (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationShaped: Lake Toba, Lead paragraphQuote, Shaped: Lake Toba, Lead paragraph
The lake is the massive caldera of the Toba supervolcano.
Crater Lake (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationShaped: Crater Lake, Lead paragraphQuote, Shaped: Crater Lake, Lead paragraph
Crater Lake (Klamath: Giiwas) is a volcanic crater lake in south-central Oregon in the Western United States.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.
Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.