![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Nemrut_Vulcano.jpg/640px-Nemrut_Vulcano.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Volcanic crater
Roughly circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A volcanic crater is an approximately circular depression in the ground caused by volcanic activity.[1] It is typically a bowl-shaped feature containing one or more vents. During volcanic eruptions, molten magma and volcanic gases rise from an underground magma chamber, through a conduit, until they reach the crater's vent, from where the gases escape into the atmosphere and the magma is erupted as lava. A volcanic crater can be of large dimensions, and sometimes of great depth. During certain types of explosive eruptions, a volcano's magma chamber may empty enough for an area above it to subside, forming a type of larger depression known as a caldera.
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e4/Nemrut_Vulcano.jpg/640px-Nemrut_Vulcano.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Mount_Cameroon_craters.jpg/640px-Mount_Cameroon_craters.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Tangkuban_Parahu.jpg/640px-Tangkuban_Parahu.jpg)