The Ngorongoro Crater is a large volcanic caldera formed two to three million years ago when a volcano, thought to have stood 4,500–5,800 m high, collapsed in on itself. The floor lies about 610 m below the rim at roughly 1,800 m above sea level and covers around 260 km², some 19 km across, enclosed on all sides by steep, forested walls. Around 25,000 large animals live on the floor year-round: wildebeest, zebra and gazelle on the grassland, hippos in the Ngoitokitok springs, elephant bulls in the Lerai fever-tree forest, and one of Africa's densest lion populations. It is one of the most reliable places in Tanzania to see black rhino, whose numbers recovered from 13 in 1993 to 55 by 2018. Lake Magadi in the centre draws lesser flamingos. Game drives descend by one road and leave by another, with a limit of 50 vehicles on the floor at a time and a daily crater service fee per vehicle. The crater was named one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Africa in 2013.
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