
How could a large depression form in the middle of a continent?
(Please excuse the god-awful map)
In my fantasy world, I have a continent with a large “pit” in the middle (detailed in the drawing). It’s a gradual slope that creates a large basin, and the bottom evens out and becomes flat when you get far enough down.
Because it’s a fantasy world, I’m a big believer in not focusing too much on topographical realism and just doing whatever looks/feels cool. However, I was curious if a feature like this could feasibly form naturally?
My first thought was a huge aquifer collapsing in that spot? Or, because it’s right next to a mountain range, a lot of water flows into the basin, so would it end up becoming a lake?
Any thoughts on this would be appreciated!