Terrestrial Impact Craters : Kara-Kul, Tajikistan

Kara-Kul, Tajikistan

Target Name: Earth
Spacecraft: Space Shuttle
Produced by: NASA
Copyright: Copyright Free

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* Terrestrial Impact Craters
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* Frozen Kara-Kul Structure, Tajikistan

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Location 38°57'N, 73°24'E
Rim diameter 45 kilometers (28 miles)
Age <10 million years

This picture shows the spectacular Kara-Kul structure. Partly filled by the 25-kilometer (16-mile) diameter Kara-Kul Lake, it is located at 3,900 meters (12,900 feet) above sea level in the Pamir Mountain Range near the Afghan border. Only recently have impact shock features been found in local breccias and cataclastic rocks.

Terrestrial Impact Craters : Gosses Bluff, Northern Territory, Australia

Gosses Bluff, Northern Territory, Australia

23°50'S, 132°19'E; rim diameter: 24 kilometers; age: 142.5 +- 0.5 million years 142 million years ago, an asteroid or comet slammed into what is now the Missionary Plains in Australia's Northern Territory, forming a crater 24 kilometers in diameter and 5 kilometers deep. Today, like a bull's eye, the circular ring of hills that defines Gosses Bluff stands as a stark reminder of the event. The crater is located just south of MacDonnel Ranges (top of the picture). It is highly eroded. The circular ring of hills (5 kilometers or 3 miles diameter) is actually the results from differential erosion of the central uplift within this large complex crater. The crater rim is eroded to the point that it is no longer visible though it is probably located along the grayish colored drainage system outside the inner ring. (Courtesy USGS)

Terrestrial Impact Craters : Bosumtwi, Ghana

Bosumtwi, Ghana

06°32'N, 01°25'W; rim diameter: 10.5 kilometers (6.5 miles); age: 1.3 +- 0.2 million years This crater is situated in crystalline bedrocks of the West African Shield and is filled almost entirely by Lake Bosumtwi. Chemical, isotopic, and age studies demonstrate that the crater is the most probable source for the Ivory Coast tektites, which are found on land in the Ivory Coast region of central Africa and as microtektites in nearby ocean sediments. In this photo the crater lake is partly obscured by clouds. (Courtesy NASA/LPI)

Terrestrial Impact Craters : Deep Bay, Saskatchewan, Canada

Deep Bay, Saskatchewan, Canada

56°24'N, 102°59'W; rim diameter: 13 kilometers (8 miles); age: 100 +- 50 million years This crater consists of a near-circular bay, about 5 kilometers (3 miles) wide and 220 meters (720 feet) deep, in the otherwise shallow Reindeer Lake. Such deep circular lakes are unusual in this region, which is dominated by the shallow gouging of glacial erosion. The circular shoreline, at a diameter of 11 kilometers (6.8 miles), is partially surrounded by a ridge with heights to 100 meters (328 feet) above the lake surface. The diameter of this ridge, ~13 kilometers (8 miles), is likely the outer rim of the impact structure. The structure was formed in Precambrian metamorphic crystalline rocks with a conspicuous northwest trending fabric. Although not obvious from the surface, Deep Bay is a complex impact structure with a low, totally submerged central uplift. Samples obtained in the 1960's from drilling into the central structure revealed shocked and fractured metamorphic rocks flanked by deposits of allocthonous, mixed breccias. (Courtesy NASA/LPI)

Terrestrial Impact Craters : Clearwater Lakes, Quebec, Canada

Clearwater Lakes, Quebec, Canada
Clearwater Lake West: 56°13'N, 74°30'W; rim diameter: 32 kilometers (20 miles)
Clearwater Lake East: 56°05'N, 74°07'W; rim diameter: 22 kilometers (13.7 miles)

age: 290 +- 20 million years These twin circular lakes (large dark features) were formed simultaneously by the impact of an asteroidal pair which slammed into the planet approximately 290 million years ago. The lakes are located near the eastern shore of Hudson Bay within the Canadian Shield in a region of generally low relief in northern Quebec province. Notice that the larger western structure contains a ring of islands with a diameter of about 10 kilometers that surrounds the center of the impact zone. They constitute a central uplifted area and are covered with impact melts. The central peak of the smaller Clearwater Lake East is submerged. The lakes are named after their exceedingly clear water. Also notice that the surrounding terrain shows widespread scarring from glaciation. The multitude of linear and irregular shaped lakes (dark features) are the result of gouging or scouring action caused by the continental ice sheets that once moved across this area. (Courtesy NASA)

Terrestrial Impact Craters : Manicouagan, Quebec, Canada

Manicouagan, Quebec, Canada

51°23'N, 68°42'W; rim diameter: ~100 kilometers (62 miles); age: 212 +- 1 million years The Manicouagan impact structure is one of the largest impact craters still preserved on the surface of the Earth. This shuttle view shows the prominent 70 kilometers (43 miles) diameter, ice-covered annular lake that fills a ring where impact-brecciated rock has been eroded by glaciation. The lake surrounds the more erosion-resistant melt sheet created by impact into metamorphic and igneous rock types. Shock metamorphic effects are abundant in the target rocks of the crater floor. Although the original rim has been removed, the distribution of shock metamorphic effects and morphological comparisons with other impact structures indicates an original rim diameter of approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles). (Courtesy NASA/LPI)

Terrestrial Impact Craters : Mistastin Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

Mistastin Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

55°53'N, 63°18'W; rim diameter: 28 kilometers (17.4 miles); age: 38 +- 4 million years This shuttle image shows a winter view of the Mistastin Crater, a heavily eroded complex structure. Eastward moving glaciers have drastically reduced the surface expression of this structure, removing most of the impact melt sheet and breccias and exposing the crater floor. Glacial erosion has also imparted an eastward elongation to the crater that is particularly evident in the shape of the lake that occupies the central 10 kilometers (6 miles) of the structure. Horseshoe Island, in the center of the lake, is part of the central uplift and contains shocked Precambrian crystalline target rocks. Just beyond the margins of the lake are vestiges of the impact melt sheet that contains evidence of meteoritic features in quartz, feldspar and diaplectic glasses. (Courtesy NASA/LPI)

Terrestrial Impact Craters : Roter Kamm, South West Africa/Namibia

Roter Kamm, South West Africa/Namibia

27°46'S, 16°18'E; rim diameter: 2.5 kilometers (1.55 miles); age: 5 +- 0.3 million years Located in the Namibia Desert, the raised crater rim is clearly visible against darker background vegetation. Target rocks include primarily Precambrian crystalline rocks and modest amounts of younger sedimentary rocks. Outcrops of impact melt breccias are found exclusively on the crater rim. The crater floor is covered by broad, shifting sand dunes. This image shows an oblique view of the crater, from about 150 meters (492 feet) above ground looking southeast. (Courtesy of W. U. Reimold and LPI)

Terrestrial Impact Craters : Roter Kamm, SAR-C/X-SAR Image

Roter Kamm, SAR-C/X-SAR Image

This space radar image shows the Roter Kamm impact crater. The crater rim is seen as a radar-bright, circular feature. The bright white, irregular feature in the lower left corner is a small hill of exposed rock outcrop. Roter Kamm is a moderate sized impact crater, 2.5 kilometers (1.55 miles) in diameter, and is 130 meters (427 feet) deep. However, its original floor is covered by sand deposits at least 100 meters (328 feet) thick. In a conventional aerial photograph, the brightly colored surfaces immediately surrounding the crater cannot be seen because they are covered by sand. The faint blue surfaces adjacent to the rim might indicate the presence of a layer of rocks ejected from the crater during the impact. The darkest areas are thick, windblown sand deposits which form dunes and sand sheets. The sand surface is smooth relative to the surrounding granite and limestone rock outcrops and appears dark in radar image. The green tones are related primarily to larger vegetation growing on sand soil, and the reddish tones are associated with thinly mantled limestone outcrops. (Courtesy NASA/JPL)

Terrestrial Impact Craters : Wolfe Creek, Australia

Wolfe Creek, Australia

19°10' S, 127° 48' E; rim diameter: 0.875 kilometers (.544 miles); age: 300,000 years Wolfe Creek is a relatively well-preserved crater that is partly buried under wind blown sand. The crater is situated in the flat desert plains of north-central Australia. Its crater rim rises ~25 meters (82 feet) above the surrounding plains and the crater floor is ~50 meters (164 feet) below the rim. Oxidized remnants of iron meteoritic material as well as some impact glass have been found a Wolf Creek. This photograph is a south-looking, oblique aerial view of the crater. (Courtesy of V. L. Sharpton, LPI)

Terrestrial Impact Craters :Chicxulub, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

Chicxulub, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

21°20'N, 89°30'W; diameter: 170 km; age: 64.98 million years This three-dimensional map of local gravity and magnetic field variations shows a multiringed structure called Chicxulub named after a village located near its center. The impact basin is buried by several hundred meters of sediment, hiding it from view. This image shows the basin viewed obliquely from approximately 60° above the surface looking north, with artificial lighting from the south. The image covers 88 to 90.5° west longitude and 19.5 to 22.5° north latitude. NASA scientists believe that an asteroid 10 to 20 kilometers (6 to 12 miles) in diameter produced this impact basin. The asteroid hit a geologically unique, sulfur-rich region of the Yucatan Peninsula and kicked up billions of tons of sulfur and other materials into the atmosphere. Darkness prevailed for about half a year after the collision. This caused global temperatures to plunge near freezing. Half of the species on Earth became extinct including the dinosaurs. (Image courtesy of V. L. Sharpton, LPI)

Terrestrial Impact Craters : Barringer Meteor Crater, Arizona

Barringer Meteor Crater, Arizona
35°02'N, 111°01'W; diameter: 1.186 kilometers (.737 miles); age: 49,000 years

The origin of this classic simple meteorite impact crater was long the subject of controversy. The discovery of fragments of the Canyon Diablo meteorite, including fragments within the breccia deposits that partially fill the structure, and a range of shock metamorphic features in the target sandstone proved its impact origin. Target rocks include Paleozoic carbonates and sandstones; these rocks have been overturned just outside the rim during ejection. The hummocky deposits just beyond the rim are remnants of the ejecta blanket. This aerial view shows the dramatic expression of the crater in the arid landscape. (Courtesy of USGS/D. Roddy and LPI)