TOP-8 giant craters of the Earth that caused cataclysms

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The earth under our feet is fraught with many secrets of the past, hidden by time. One of the main questions that worries scientists is evidence of encounters with huge stones from space, which took place at different times. Some of them have already been found, others are hidden under the ice, jungle or at the bottom of the oceans as an invisible shadow.

Kaali crater

Estonia A giant funnel from a gigantic meteorite turned over millions of years into a small lake filled with dirty water. Archaeologists believe that the ancients built a sacred altar here and brought human sacrifices to an unknown cosmic deity.

Chicxulub

Mexico About 65 million years ago, an asteroid the size of a small metropolis passed the atmosphere and struck our planet with a force of 100 million megatons of TNT (which, by the way, is exactly two million times more powerful than the most modern man-made bomb). The explosion provoked earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, megatsunami and global firestorms. The earth was covered with clouds of dust, which blocked sunlight for many years: the Ice Age began, the majestic dinosaurs are a thing of the past.

Nordlingen

Germany This city is only some one and a half thousand years old, but the crater where it was founded appeared as much as 15 million years ago. The meteorite left an ideal valley, perfectly protected from all sides by natural barriers. Locals value their history very much - still, the remains of the space wanderer are still scattered in their gardens.

Vredefort

South Africa Today, the size of this crater can only be estimated from space: erosion has gradually eaten away its walls and almost razed to the ground. Nevertheless, the Vredefort crater is officially considered the largest in the world, with a nominal diameter of more than 400 kilometers.

Wolf pit

Australia The iron meteorite, nicknamed Wolfe Creek, weighed about 50,000 tons. If he fell not on the territory of Australia, but somewhere in Europe, a new Ice Age could wipe out only the then incipient humanity from the face of the earth.

Houghton Crater

Devon, Canada One of the largest craters in the world was left by a giant meteorite that struck the Earth more than 39 million years ago. The blow was so strong that the living conditions themselves changed in this area. The geology and climate of Hufton have received the label "Martian Toys" from scientists - roughly the same conditions will be expected for colonists on Mars. A preparatory station has already been built in the crater, where future researchers of the Red Planet will work.

Arizona crater

USA In 1903, geologist Benjamin Barringer first ventured to declare the extraterrestrial origin of a giant crater located in what is now Arizona. Despite the well-grounded theory, the scientific community scoffed at Barringer: people could not even imagine that a "guest" of this size could indeed fly from space. Only thirty years later, scientists had to admit that the brave geologist was right.

Uphival

USA Abhiwal, or "Inverted Dome", attracts tourists from all over the world. The giant formation, splitting the Canyonlands National Park into several zones, can be considered one of the oldest craters on the planet - the impact happened about 170 million years ago.