What's the largest volcanic crater in the U.S.?

rocky Heather Bahr

Hi Heather,

I don't know an easy answer to your question. Volcanologists use the word "crater" rather carefully, and restrict it to volcanic depressions caused by either explosions or collapse that are less than 1 km across. I assume you would like to know about things bigger than that. These are almost always caused only by collapse and if they are bigger than the arbitrary 1 km diameter we call them "calderas"

Here is where my answer bogs down. There are a number of big calderas in the U.S. Many of them are many millions of years old so it isn't easy to know what their exact sizes are so it is hard to tell which is the biggest. Some examples are:

I guess it looks like Yellowstone wins!

Sincerely,

Scott Rowland, University of Hawaii 

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