Impact Craters Meteorites & Asteroids

Meteorite Impacts* Meteoroids < 1m in diameter tend to burn up in atmosphere Meteoroids > 1km can cause much damage Earth has more than 100 craters > 0.1km in diameter. *Notes from meteor handout

Asteroid Impacts* There are many large basins and eroded craters that are suspected to be ancient asteroid sites. An asteroid that is 1 km in diameter has more energy than 100 times all the nuclear weapons in the world right now. *Notes from meteor handout

How are craters formed? Check out website: http://miac.uqac.ca/MIAC/crater.htm

Some craters in the world

Eslöv meteor Located in Eslöv Biennale, Sweden. Hit ~6:00 am on November 3rd, 2007 Crater ~ 15 m in diameter

Barringer crater* Located in Arizona, USA Weighs approx. 200,000 tons Meteor was ~ 50m in diameter (~1/2 soccer field) Crater - 1.186 km diameter *Notes from meteor handout http://www.solarviews.com/eng/tercrate.htm

Manicougan Crater Located in Quebec, Canada. ~200 to 300 million years old ~95 km across 5th largest

Kara-Kul Located in Parmir Mountains in Tajikistan. ~45km diameter

Clear Water Lakes Crater Located in Quebec, Canada. Only example on earth of pair impact craters. Demonstrate multiple hit of cometary debris Larger crater ~32 km Smaller crater ~22 km

Mistastin Lake crater, Located in Nfld & Labrador, Canada 28 km diameter http://www.solarviews.com/cap/earth/mistastn.htm

Deep Bay Crater Located in Saskatchewan, Canada ~13 kilometer diameter ~100 million years old http://www.solarviews.com/eng/tercrate.htm

Wolfe Creek Crater Located in Wolfe Creek National Park, Australia ~0.875km diameter Crater rim raises ~25m above plain level Crater floor is ~50m below crater’s rim http://www.solarviews.com/cap/earth/wolf.htm

Impacts around the world Nifty website! http://geology.com/meteor-impact-craters.shtml