Impact Craters

Whether they're the size of a molehill or a mountain, meteorite impacts are one of the most destructive forces in the solar system. Here on Earth, flying space debris triggered mass extinctions, but the same deadly asteroids might also have delivered the seeds of life soon after Earth was born. The effects of asteroid impacts linger for billions of years.

22 places

7/25/2021

Places in this Collection

Manicouagan Reservoir

Manicouagan Reservoir is an annular lake in central Quebec, Canada, covering an area of 1,942 km2.

Vredefort crater

The Vredefort crater is the largest verified impact crater on Earth.

Chicxulub crater

The Chicxulub crater is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

Sudbury Basin

The Sudbury Basin, also known as Sudbury Structure or the Sudbury Nickel Irruptive, is a major ge...

Campo del Cielo

Campo del Cielo refers to a group of iron meteorites and to the area in Argentina where they were...

Beaverhead crater

The Beaverhead crater is an impact structure spanning the U.S. states of Idaho and Montana.

Kaali crater

Kaali is a group of nine meteorite craters in the village of Kaali on the Estonian island of Saar...

Shoemaker crater

Shoemaker is an impact structure, the deeply eroded remnant of a former impact crater, situated i...

Acraman crater

Acraman crater is a deeply eroded impact crater in the Gawler Ranges of South Australia.

Tenoumer crater

Tenoumer is considered to be an impact crater in Mauritania.

Morokweng crater

The Morokweng crater is an impact crater buried beneath the Kalahari Desert near the town of Moro...

Wolfe Creek Crater

Wolfe Creek Crater is a well-preserved meteorite impact crater in Western Australia. Wolfe Creek...

Rochechouart crater

Rochechouart crater is an impact crater in France The initial crater shape and structure has been...

Nördlinger Ries

The Nördlinger Ries is an impact crater, large circular depression in western Bavaria, Germany, l...

Chesapeake Bay

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States.

Charlevoix

Charlevoix is a mountain region carved by a meteor impact millions of years ago. The epicenter be...

Kara crater

Kara is a meteor crater in the Yugorsky Peninsula, Nenetsia, Russia.

Lake Lappajärvi

Lappajärvi is a lake in Finland, in the municipalities of Lappajärvi, Alajärvi and Vimpeli. The l...

Wabar craters

The Wabar craters are impact craters located in Saudi Arabia.

Carswell crater

Carswell is an impact crater within the Athabasca Basin of the Canadian Shield in northern Saskat...

Popigai crater

The Popigai crater in Siberia, Russia, is tied with the Manicouagan Crater as the fourth largest...

Meteor Crater

Meteor Crater is a meteorite impact crater approximately 37 miles east of Flagstaff and 18 miles...

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