火口原(かこうげん)

かこうげん
noun
caldera floor; crater plain
technicalnature
1. caldera floor; crater plain
The relatively flat plain inside a large volcanic crater or caldera, often containing smaller central cones, lakes, or vegetation.
火口原(かこうげん)に湖(みずうみ)がある。
There is a lake on the caldera floor.
阿蘇山(あそざん)の火口原(かこうげん)は広大(こうだい)だ。
The caldera floor of Mount Aso is vast.
In the center of the caldera floor rises a central cone formed by an eruption.

Compound of 火口(かこう) (volcanic crater) + 原(げん)/原(はら) (plain). Used in geology and geography for the flat interior of a caldera or large crater. A 火口原(かこうげん) often contains a smaller 中央(ちゅうおう)火口丘(かこうきゅう) (central cone) or 火口原(かこうげん)湖(こ) (crater lake).

Common collocations

  • 火口原(かこうげん)湖(こ): crater lake on a caldera floor
  • 中央(ちゅうおう)火口丘(かこうきゅう): central cone within a caldera
  • 広大(こうだい)な火口原(かこうげん): vast caldera floor

Related words