World largest caldera found in Philippines: UP Marine Science Institute

October 23, 2019

The world’s largest caldera is found in Philippine Rise, the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP MSI) Geological Oceanogrphy Laboratory posted on its Facebook page on Monday

According to the UP MSI this was among the findings of Jenny Anne Barretto, a Filipina marine geophysicist based in New Zealand, on a paper she recently published with Ray Wood and John Milsom.

“Among their findings is the existence of the Apolaki Caldera within Benham Rise, which may be the world's largest known caldera with a diameter of ~150 km,” it stated.

“For comparison, Earth's largest calderas, like the Yellowstone, is only about 60 km. The size is comparable to shield calderas in Mars (Olympus Mons; 80 km x 65 km) and Venus (Sacajawea; 150 X 105 km),” it added.

According to UP MSI, “Apolaki means “giant lord” which was based on “the Filipino mythical god of the sun and war.” Robina Asido/DMS