Caldera
/kælˈdɛr.ə/noun
A large volcanic basin formed by collapse after an eruption or by explosive removal of magma.
Did you know?Caldera comes from Spanish caldera, meaning a cauldron or kettle, from Latin caldaria, and the word’s shape matches the image: a giant, empty boiling-pot scar left behind after a mountain blows itself open.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
caldaria
“A hot vessel; a kettle or cauldron for heating water”
Late Latin
Latin
caldarium
“A hot bath or heated room, especially in Roman bathhouses”
Old Spanish
Spanish
caldera
“A cauldron or kettle”
18th Century
English
caldera
“Adopted in geology for a large volcanic basin resembling a cauldron”
Modern English
English
caldera
“A large volcanic depression formed by collapse or eruption”