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caldera

[kal-der-uh, kawl-]
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noun
  1. a large, basinlike depression resulting from the explosion or collapse of the center of a volcano.
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Origin of caldera

1860–65; < Spanish Caldera, name of a crater on Canary Islands, literally, cauldron < Late Latin caldāria, noun use of feminine of caldārius of warming; see caldarium
Can be confusedcaldera fumarole geyser volcano
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for caldera

caldera

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

C19: from Spanish Caldera (literally: cauldron), name of a crater in the Canary Islands
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for caldera

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).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
caldera in Science

caldera

[kăl-dâr′ə, -dîr′ə, käl-]
  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.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.