Abstract
Formation of, and slip on existing, collapse calderas is much more common in basaltic edifices than in composite edifices. I suggest that this difference is partly due to the composite edifices being tougher and more resistant to ring-fault formation than a basaltic edifices. The high matieral toughness of composite edifices is related to their being composed of rock layers with widely different elastic properties, the elastic mismatch promoting deflection and/or arrest of potential ring faults at layer contacts.