caldera

noun

1. a large, basinlike depression resulting from the explosion or collapse of the center of a volcano.

noun

1. a large basin-shaped crater at the top of a volcano, formed by the collapse or explosion of the coneSee cirque

n.

“cavity on the summit of a volcano,” 1865, from Spanish caldera “cauldron, kettle,” from Latin caldarium, caldarius “pertaining to warming,” from calidus “warm, hot” (see calorie).

1. A large, roughly circular crater left after a volcanic explosion or the collapse of a volcanic cone. Calderas are typically much wider in diameter than the openings of the vents from which they were formed.