Mount Mazama 's eruption timeline, an example of caldera formation A caldera (/ kɔːlˈdɛrə, kæl -/ [1] kawl-DERR-ə, kal-) is a large cauldron -like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcanic eruption. Caldera is a French software company specializing in large-format printing. Since 1991, our software solutions empower digital printing professionals serving the sign, graphics and textile markets. A caldera is a large, basin-shaped volcanic depression, typically more than one kilometer in diameter, formed when a volcano's magma chamber empties during a massive eruption and the overlying rock collapses into the void. Here's a detailed explanation of their differences: Craters and calderas are both volcanic features, but they are formed in very different ways. A crater is a bowl-shaped depression at the top of a volcano, while a caldera is a much larger basin-shaped depression formed by the collapse of a volcano. By strict definitions, a caldera is a type of crater, but calderas are distinguished by their large sizes and specific association with volcanic collapse. Yellowstone is a caldera. Caldera, large bowl-shaped volcanic depression more than one kilometre in diameter and rimmed by infacing scarps. Calderas usually, if not always, form by the collapse of the top of a volcanic cone or group of cones because of removal of the support formerly furnished by an underlying body of magma A caldera is a large depression formed when a volcano erupts and collapses. During a volcanic eruption, magma present in the magma chamber underneath the volcano is expelled, often forcefully. A large, bowl-shaped volcanic depression, a caldera forms when the top of a volcanic cone collapses into the space left after magma is ejected during a violent volcanic eruption. Caldera demonstration: This video shows a teaching activity that clearly demonstrates how a caldera is formed. It can be difficult to explain or draw how a caldera forms. Resurgent calderas, the largest type of caldera, are not associated with any individual volcanic edifice, but are characterized by broad volcanic plateaus with voluminous ash-fall and pyroclastic-flow deposits (ignimbrites).