10 of the most impressive asteroid impact sites
Sat, Nov 1, 2008
Post filled in: Feature Post, Great Pics, Science
Many people refer to these structures as “Meteorite Craters”, but that’s at least partially incorrect. Meteor is the term used to describe an object that goes through our planet’s atmosphere, and meteorite is used after the object hit the planet. These are just some of the most amazing ones, and easy to see for an inexperienced eye. They are in no particular order, and some pictures are not natural, but taken via radar or other form of imaging.
Lake El´gygytgyn, central Chukotka, NE Siberia, Russian Federation
Diameter: 12 km
Haughton crater, Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada
Diameter: 20 km
Clearwater lakes (two different craters) as seen from a space shuttle, Canada
Original diameter: 26km
Manicouagan
Diameter: 100 km
Canyonlands National Park, Utah, US
Diameter: 10 km
Lake Bosumtwi is the only natural lake in Ghana
Diameter: 10.5 km
Aorounga, Chad
Diameter: 17 km
Gweni Fada, Chad
Diameter: 14 km
Gosses Bluff, Australia
Diameter: 24 km
Arizona Crater, the first proven, best preserved impact crater and the biggest in the world
Bad thing is that visiting it costs.
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Andrei is no scientist, but from an early age, he has been fascinated by science; that's why he went to college, and signed up for Geophysics. Feeling that there's a huge gap between science and average people, he rallied TP, started ZME Science, and gave it a green twist too.
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November 1st, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Thank you for sharing that. Pictures are magnificent, and the aerial shots were amazing. I wonder how many times, that Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune have saved us from a meteorite impact that could have been devastating?
November 1st, 2008 at 9:03 pm
Haughton Crater is not a lake. I have been inside it 3 times. It does have a few small ponds - but the vast majority of the crater is mostly bare rock.
November 2nd, 2008 at 5:04 am
Thanks for telling that Keith, I haven’t been there so had to rely on sources which proved to be not so accurate. Thanks again.
November 2nd, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Great to see others interested in impact structures!
http://ottawa-rasc.ca/wiki/index.php?title=Odale-Articles
http://www.flickr.com/photos/chuckexpeditions/sets/
Chuck
Ottawa Canada