La Garita Caldera is a large volcanic caldera located in the San Juan volcanic field in the San Juan Mountains near the town of Creede in southwestern Colorado, United States. It lies to the west of the town of La Garita, Colorado. The eruption that created the La Garita Caldera is often[when?] described[by whom?] as the largest known explosive eruption in Earth's history, although recent research[by whom?] has identified several larger ones.[vague]