Caldera is a type of volcanic landscape, which refers to the emptiness of the magma chamber after a volcano has erupted many times in a row, causing the volcanic vertebrae to collapse and collapse due to the loss of support, forming a depression much larger than the original volcano. This depression is usually located at the top of a volcanic cone and is a large volcanic depression that is roughly circular or nearly circular. Calderas may be formed due to the collapse or subsidence of the top of the volcano, steep on all sides and uneven at the bottom, and are craters formed by volcanic eruptions, which are incomplete in shape due to later natural or man-made destruction.
Compared to a crater, a caldera is a special form of a volcanic crater, usually a larger depression formed by the collapse of the volcanic vertebrae caused by the emptiness of the magma chamber after the volcano erupts several times. Ordinary craters refer to the craters formed by the accumulation of volcanic ejecta around their vents, which are generally located at the top of the volcanic cone, large at the top and small at the bottom, often in the shape of a funnel or bowl.
The formation of a caldera can involve a variety of factors, such as magma retreat, collapse of the volcano itself, or eruption of a shallow magma sac. Calderas are large in size, usually several miles or even tens of miles in diameter, and their formation is mainly caused by eruptions, but after a large number of eruptions, they will cause the volcanic cone to be empty, causing the cone top to collapse, and then the extent of the crater will be further expanded.
The world's largest crater volcano is Mount Aso, located in the northeast of Kumamoto Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan, slightly oval, 24 kilometers long from north to south, 18 kilometers wide from east to west, and covers an area of 250 square kilometers.
There are more than 10 craters (also known as compound volcanoes) in the large crater, and the central crater mounds are formed, among which Mt. Takadake, Mt. Neko, Mt. Kurohat, Mt. Nakadake and Mt. Kitshima are the most famous, and they are called the five peaks of Aso. Takadake is the highest, with an altitude of 1,592 meters.
Lake Taupo, New Zealand, is also a typical caldera. When volcanoes reach old age, they no longer emit magma flames, but they do form hot springs and bubbling mud pools, and their internal structures may be exposed to the ground. The terrain created by volcanic eruptions is nothing more spectacular than the huge circular caldera, which is the remains of ancient volcanic eruptions, often tens of kilometers in diameter.
Mount Bromo and Tengger Caldera in Indonesia.