What is the difference between a caldera and a pit crater?

Kilauea caldera, a large, roughly circular depression, dominates this photograph. It includes the smaller Halemaumau pit crater. Kilauea Iki and Keanakakoi pit craters are just outside of the main caldera in the lower left. Crater Rim Drive winds through the rain forest. Volcano Village is on the lower right. Photograph by J.D. Griggs, U.S. Geological Survey, January 10, 1985.

Answer:

A caldera is a large, basin-shaped volcanic depression, more or less circular, the diameter of which is many times greater than that of the included vents. A pit crater is a crater formed by sinking in of the surface; not primarily a vent for lava.


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