El Elegante Crater
El Elegante is a maar located in the Gran Desierto de Altar in the Sonoran Desert, Mexico.
At deep and across, it is the largest in the volcanic complex of Pinacate Peaks.
Formation
The crater was formed about 32,000 years ago when groundwater seeping down into the earth came into contact with magma rising from beneath the crust. The hot magma instantly turned the water to steam, and the sudden high pressure triggered a phreatomagmatic explosion, blowing a huge hole in the ground, and blasting out rocks, magmatic material and ash, forming the crater. Ejecta was spread out to a distance of about from the crater over what is now the desert floor. The crater rim is higher than the surrounding desert and shows layers of rock built up from the ejecta.El Elegante contained a lake during the pluvial period preceding the last altithermal period.