ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Long Valley Caldera

Okay kiddo, have you ever seen a pot of boiling water on the stove? It bubbles and steams and sometimes the water overflows, right? Well, imagine if the Earth was like a pot of water and the heat inside caused it to bubble and steam too.

When the Earth's crust gets really hot, it can melt into magma which is like very thick and sticky molten rock. Sometimes, the magma makes its way up to the surface and creates a volcano. You know what that looks like, right? It's a big mountain that spews out hot, red lava.

Now, let's talk about Long Valley Caldera. It's not a volcano like you might think, but instead it's a big hole in the ground that was formed by lots of volcanic activity. A long time ago, there was a huge volcanic eruption and all the magma in the ground emptied out. This made the ground above it collapse, forming the big hole we call the Long Valley Caldera.

Even though it's not a volcano anymore, there's still a lot of heat and activity deep under the ground. Sometimes, this causes earthquakes or hot springs to form. But don't worry, scientists are always keeping an eye on the Long Valley Caldera to make sure everyone is safe.