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The structure's central uplift is known as the Vredefort Dome. The impact structure was formed during the Paleoproterozoic Era, 2.023 billion (± 4 million) years ago. It is the second-oldest known impact structure on Earth, after Yarrabubba. In 2005, the Vredefort Dome was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites for its geologic interest.
Vredefort (locally / ˈ f r ɪər d ə f ɔːr t /, Afrikaans: [ˈfriədəfɔrt]) is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa with cattle, peanuts, sorghum, sunflowers and maize being farmed. It is home to 3,000 residents.
Venterskroon is home to the Vredefort Dome Information Centre. The Vredefort Dome is the center of the Vredefort impact structure. This impact structure is the world's largest, oldest, and most deeply eroded complex asteroid impact structure in the world, and has been listed by UNESCO as World Heritage Site [2] [3]
Vredefort Dome: North West, Free State: 2005 1162; viii (natural) The Vredefort Dome (satellite image pictured) is the impact structure, or astrobleme, created by a meteorite that hit the Earth around 2 billion years ago, releasing massive amounts of energy and causing devastating global effects. It is the oldest and, with a radius of 190 km ...
The Vredefort impact event, which occurred around 2 billion years ago in Kaapvaal Craton (what is now South Africa), caused the largest verified crater, a multi-ringed structure 160–300 km (100–200 mi) across, forming from an impactor approximately 10–15 km (6.2–9.3 mi) in diameter. [70] [71]
The following craters are officially considered "unconfirmed" because they are not listed in the Earth Impact Database. Due to stringent requirements regarding evidence and peer-reviewed publication, newly discovered craters or those with difficulty collecting evidence generally are known for some time before becoming listed.
Vredefort: 250–300 km (160–190 mi) 12,740 km 2% Chicxulub crater: 182 km (113 mi) 1.4% Cause or contributor of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event: Sudbury Basin: 130 km (80 mi) 1% Moon (moon of Earth) Procellarum: 3,000 km (2,000 mi) 3,470 km 86% Not confirmed as an impact basin. South Pole–Aitken basin: 2,500 km (1,600 mi) 70% ...
The following tables list geological features on Earth that are known impact events as well as possible, but for which there is currently no confirming scientific evidence in the peer-reviewed literature, impact events.