Caldera

//kælˈdɛɹ.ə// name, noun

name, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A large crater formed by collapse of the cone or edifice of a volcano.

    "The lakes of both Rotorua and Taupo occupy calderas left from enormous prehistoric eruptions, and magma lies at shallow depths beneath a number of centres."

  2. 2
    a large crater caused by the violent explosion of a volcano that collapses into a depression wordnet
Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A city, port, and commune in Copiapó province, Atacama region, northern Chile.
  2. 2
    A corregimiento in Boquete district, Chiriquí province, Panama.

Synonyms

All synonyms
astrobleme

Example

More examples

"The summit caldera is also collapsing, causing large temblors almost daily."

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish caldera (“cauldron”), from Late Latin caldāria (“warm bath”), from Latin caldārium. Doublet of chowder.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.