Valles Caldera and the Bandelier Tuff

A caldera occurs when there is a volcanic collapse creating a crater. Most craters are formed by deposition around a volcanic vent, and enlarged by the slumping of unstable deposits into the vents. Calderas on the other hand are formed when there are infrequent eruptions, usually very large, from depths ranging from 4-7 kilometers. The remaining void space is then filled by the collapse of the surrounding area. The caldera is usually filled with its own ash, and pumice. Calderas also vary in size; they range from being at small as 1.7km in diameter all the way to the largest known caldera, which is 48km in diameter. The Valles Caldera, located in the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico is type of caldera known as a resurgent caldera. A resurgent caldera occurs when gas-rich magma collects near the top of a magma chamber creating a bulge. After eruption begins and the collapse is initiated, ring shaped fractures being in the magma chamber and burst to the surf

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