Calderas are large-scale kettle- or cirque-like depressions found in areas of volcanic activity. They are destructional in origin and most have resulted from the collapse of a portion of the crust overlying a magma reservoir. In plan view they range from circular to elliptical to U-shaped; in diameter they range from ca. 1 km to ca. 25 km. The following are examples of calderas.
Diameter (km) |
|
|---|---|
Bandaisan |
2.5 |
Mt Somma |
3.3 |
Kilauea |
3.3 × 4.2 |
Okmok |
8.2 |
Crater Lake |
10.0 |
Aniakchak |
10.0 × 10.8 |
Asosan |
16.5 × 25 |
Valle Grande |
26.5 × 30 |
Circular to elliptical calderas are typically formed by collapse; they are concentric or nearly so with the volcanoes on which they form. Their shape in plan view is probably determined by the shape of the underlying lava reservoir or by the similar plan of the volcanoes on which they form. This latter factor determines the stresses that would result if support were withdrawn from below.
Calderas that are U-shaped in plan view result from either eccentric collapse...
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Thornton, C.P. (1989). Calderas and volcano-tectonic depressions . In: Petrology. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/0-387-30845-8_34
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