El Valle, Stratovolcano in central Panama.

El Valle is a stratovolcano in central Panama characterized by a large caldera containing several volcanic cones. The tallest peaks within the crater, including Cerro Gaital and Cerro Caracoral, rise to approximately 1,185 meters (3,888 feet) above sea level.

The volcano formed through the subduction of the Nazca Plate, creating a geological feature that developed over millions of years. The final eruption took place roughly 200,000 years ago, after which the summit collapsed into the magma chamber, forming the present caldera.

El Valle de Antón sits at about 600 m in the crater of the extinct volcano, in Coclé province. The caldera's lava-dome complex takes in the Cerro Pajita, Cerro Gaital and Cerro Caracoral peaks, which residents use as landmarks for the surrounding settlement.

El Valle de Antón sits at about 600 m above sea level in the province of Coclé, inside the crater of the extinct volcano. The caldera floor holds the town, while the lava-dome peaks Cerro Pajita, Cerro Gaital and Cerro Caracoral rise around it. Trails to the ridges start from the valley floor, so allow time for the climb and for the cooler, cloudier conditions up high.

Before research in the early 1990s, geologists held that Panama had no active volcanism at all. Radioactive dating of El Valle's rocks overturned that view, showing the volcano last erupted about 200,000 years ago. The caldera later gave rise to the lava domes Cerro Pajita, Cerro Gaital and Cerro Caracoral.