This curious wide, shallow crater is often said to be (incorrectly) a meteorite impact crater. It is in fact a maar, a low-relief volcanic crater caused by a phreatomagmatic eruption, an explosion caused by groundwater coming into contact with hot lava or magma. Maars often fill with water to form shallow lakes, Jayu Quta is actually the Aymara phrase for salt lake (jayu salt, quta lake).