Knowra Volcanic crater Volcanic crater A roughly circular depression at or near a volcano’s vent, formed by eruptions, collapse, or both. It may contain a vent, a lake, or later volcanic deposits.
Explosive eruption : A volcanic eruption that rapidly fragments magma and ejects gas, ash, and rock. Explosive blasts can excavate a crater around a volcanic vent.
Volcanic vent : An opening through which volcanic gases, lava, or fragmented material reaches the surface. A crater commonly forms around a volcano’s principal or subsidiary vent.
Halemaʻumaʻu : A volcanic pit crater within the summit caldera of Kīlauea on Hawaiʻi Island. Its changing lake and explosive history illustrate activity within a summit crater.
Volcanic hazard : A potentially harmful process or condition produced by volcanic activity. Crater changes can signal hazards such as explosions, ash emission, or unstable crater walls.
Lava lake : A persistent or recurrent pool of molten lava exposed at the surface. A crater can contain a lava lake when magma repeatedly reaches the vent.
Phreatic eruption : An eruption driven by heated groundwater or surface water, without necessarily ejecting new magma. Steam-driven blasts can excavate craters even when magma stays underground.
Volcano : An opening or landform through which magma, gases, and volcanic material reach Earth’s surface. A volcanic crater is a landform associated with a volcano.
Kīlauea Iki : A pit crater on Kīlauea that hosted a major lava-lake eruption in 1959. The 1959 eruption filled this crater with lava and dramatically altered its floor.
Volcanic lake : A body of water occupying a volcanic crater or caldera. Water in a crater can interact with heat and gases, creating sudden explosion hazards.
Hydrothermal system : A circulation of heated water and gases through rock, driven by an underground heat source. Crater floors can host hydrothermal systems where water meets volcanic heat.
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