crater
Volcano's central depression
A crater is a bowl-shaped depression, typically formed by an explosion or impact.
The most familiar craters are on the moon, created by meteorites striking the surface, but craters also form at the mouths of volcanoes and where bombs or shells have hit the ground.
The verb crater means to form craters in a surface, but it has also developed a figurative sense meaning to collapse or fail dramatically: The stock market cratered after the announcement.
His career cratered following the scandal.
Circular outer boundary
- basinConcave water receptacle
- depressionProlonged low state
- cavityEmpty space within
- hollowEmpty within
pit · bowl · floor · wall · terraces · peak · diameter · depth
Collapsed volcanic summit basin
- lavaErupted liquid stone
- magmaMolten rock underground
- eruptionViolent sudden release
- ventOpening for airflow
cone · pyroclastic · ash · pumice · tuff · fumarole · basalt · scoria
Space debris reaching Earth
- asteroidSun-orbiting rocky mass
- collisionForceful contact between objects
- bolideDetonating meteor, very bright
- shockwavePropagating pressure disturbance
ejecta · breccia · tektite · extinction · trajectory · fragmentation · airburst · impactor
Female adult equine
- TychoMajor lunar impact crater
- CopernicusRenaissance astronomer, heliocentrism
- ApolloSun deity, moonshot namesake
- regolithFragmented covering over bedrock
highlands · Kepler · Plato · maria · moonscape · Shackleton · terminator · albedo
rim
Circular outer boundary
- basinConcave water receptacle
- depressionProlonged low state
- cavityEmpty space within
hollow · pit · bowl · floor · wall · terraces · peak · diameter · depth
caldera
Collapsed volcanic summit basin
vent · cone · pyroclastic · ash · pumice · tuff · fumarole · basalt · scoria · dome
meteorite
Space debris reaching Earth
- asteroidSun-orbiting rocky mass
- collisionForceful contact between objects
- bolideDetonating meteor, very bright
shockwave · ejecta · breccia · tektite · extinction · trajectory · fragmentation · airburst · impactor · rim
mare
Female adult equine
- TychoMajor lunar impact crater
- CopernicusRenaissance astronomer, heliocentrism
- ApolloSun deity, moonshot namesake
regolith · highlands · Kepler · Plato · maria · moonscape · Shackleton · terminator · albedo
shell
Hard outer covering
- artilleryLarge-caliber battlefield weapons
- explosionViolent burst of energy
- mortarGrinding bowl or binder
shrapnel · blast · trench · battlefield · munitions · warzone · foxhole · bombardment · ordnance
- spacespace, sun, moon, stars, star
- earth scienceatmosphere, earthquake, geology, volcano, crust
- moonfull moon, lunar, crescent moon, new moon, half moon
- volcanoesvolcano, volcanic eruption, Mount Fuji, volcanic eruptions, caldera
- African landscapesSahara, Serengeti, savanna, Sahel, Kalahari
- hot springssteam, thermal springs, hydrogen sulfide, bubbles, mineral deposits
- lunar cratersImpact formations on moon
- bomb craterPit from detonation
- crater lakeWater in volcanic hollow
- smoking crater
- volcanic craterDepression from eruption
- impact craterMeteorite collision depression
crater lake, craters, cratered, cratering, craterlike, crater lakes