Ngorongoro Crater
World's Largest Volcanic Caldera
An extinct volcanic caldera roughly 20km across, the Ngorongoro Crater concentrates an extraordinary density of wildlife within its walls year-round.
The Ngorongoro Crater formed when a large volcano collapsed on itself an estimated 2–3 million years ago, leaving a caldera floor of roughly 260 km² enclosed by walls up to 600 meters high. That enclosed geography means resident wildlife — including one of Tanzania's few remaining black rhino populations — rarely migrates out.
The crater floor's mix of grassland, swamp, forest and soda lake supports one of the highest densities of wildlife anywhere in Africa, including large prides of lion, dense herds of wildebeest and zebra, and flocks of flamingo on Lake Magadi.
The Ngorongoro Conservation Area surrounding the crater is also home to Maasai communities practicing traditional pastoralism alongside conservation — a rare model of multiple land use.
