List of impact structures on Earth

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Template:Earth Impact Database world map.svg Template:GeoGroup

This list of impact structures (including impact craters) on Earth contains the majority of the 194+ confirmed impact structures given in the Earth Impact Database as of 2024.[1]

Alphabetical lists for different continents can be found under Impact structures by continent below.

Unconfirmed structures can be found at List of possible impact structures on Earth.

Confirmed impact structures listed by size and age

These features were caused by the collision of meteors (consisting of large fragments of asteroids) or comets (consisting of ice, dust particles and rocky fragments) with the Earth. For eroded or buried craters, the stated diameter typically refers to the best available estimate of the original rim diameter, and may not correspond to present surface features. Time units are either in ka (thousands) or Ma (millions) of years.

10 ka or less

Less than ten thousand years old, and with a diameter of Template:Cvt or more. The EID lists fewer than ten such craters, and the largest in the last 100,000 years (100 ka) is the Template:Cvt Rio Cuarto crater in Argentina.[2] However, there is some uncertainty regarding its origins[3] and age, with some sources giving it as < 10 ka[2][4] while the EID gives a broader < 100 ka.[3]

The Kaali impacts (Template:Circa) during the Nordic Bronze Age may have influenced Estonian and Finnish mythology,[5] the Campo del Cielo (Template:Circa) could be in the legends of some Native Argentine tribes,[6][7] while Henbury (Template:Circa) has figured in Australian Aboriginal oral traditions.[8]

File:Macha craters overview map.jpg
Macha crater field map
File:Kaali main crater on 2005-08-10.3.jpg
One of the Kaali craters
Name Location Country Diameter
(km)
Age
(ka)
Date Coordinates
Wabar Rub' al Khali desert Saudi Arabia 0.1 0.2 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Dalgaranga Western Australia Australia 0.024 less than 3?
Whitecourt Alberta Canada 0.04 1.1 Template:Align Template:Coord
Kaali Saaremaa Estonia 0.1 3.5 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Campo del Cielo Chaco Argentina 0.1[7] 4.5 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Henbury Northern Territory Australia 0.2 4.7 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Morasko Poznań Poland 0.1 5.0[9] Template:Sort Template:Coord
Boxhole Northern Territory Australia 0.2 5.4 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Macha Sakha Republic Russia 0.3 7.3 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Luna Gujarat India 1.5-1.8 less than 6.9 < 5000 BC

The EID gives a size of about Template:Cvt for Campo del Cielo, but other sources quote Template:Cvt.[7]

10 ka to 1 Ma

From between 10 thousand years and one million years ago, and with a diameter of less than Template:Cvt:

Name Location Country Diameter
(km)
Age
(ka)
Coordinates
Wolfe Creek Western Australia Australia 0.9 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Hickman 0.26 10-100
Kalkkop Eastern Cape South Africa 0.64 ~250
Jeokjung-Chogye Basin Gyeongsangnam South Korea 8 30-63 Template:Coord
Monturaqui Atacama Desert Chile 0.455 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Pantasma Jinotega Nicaragua 14 804
Amguid Tamanrasset Algeria 0.45 10-100
Aorounga Central Borkou Chad 16 Possibly 500

From between ten thousand years and one million years ago, and with a diameter of Template:Cvt or more. The largest in the last one million years is the Template:Convert Zhamanshin crater in Kazakhstan and has been described as being capable of producing a nuclear-like winter.[10]

The source of the enormous Australasian strewnfield (c. 780 ka) is a currently undiscovered crater probably located in Southeast Asia.[11][12]

File:Meteor Crater - Arizona.jpg
Meteor Crater, Template:Cvt
File:Tenoumer.jpg
Tenoumer crater, Template:Cvt
Name Location Country Diameter
(km)
Age
(ka)
Coordinates
Yilan Heilongjiang China Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Meteor/Barringer Arizona United States Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Xiuyan Xiuyan China Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Lonar Maharashtra India Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Agoudal[13] Atlas Mountains Morocco Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Tswaing Pretoria Saltpan South Africa Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Zhamanshin Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord

1 Ma to 10 Ma

File:Elgygytgyn.jpg
Elgygytgyn, Template:Cvt
File:Bosumtwi Worldwind SW.jpg
Bosumtwi, Template:Cvt

From between 1 and 10 million years ago. The large but apparently craterless Eltanin impact (2.5 Ma) into the Pacific Ocean has been suggested as contributing to the glaciations and cooling during the Pliocene.[14]

Name Location Country Diameter
(km)
Age
(Million years)
Coordinates
Tenoumer Sahara Desert Mauritania Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Bosumtwi Ashanti Ghana Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
New Quebec/Pingualuit Quebec Canada 3.4 1.4 ± 0.1 Template:Coord
El'gygytgyn Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Russia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Bigach Kazakhstan Kazakhstan Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Karla Tatarstan Russia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Alhama de Almería Almería Spain 22 8 Template:Coord
Roter Kamm Karas Namibia 2.4 3.8 ± 0.3 Template:Coord
Talemzane Djelfa Algeria 1.6 < 3 Template:Coord
Tsenkher Gobi-Altai Mongolia 3.7 4.9 ± 0.9 Template:Coord
Aouelloul Adrar Mauritania 0.39 3.1 ± 0.3

Script error: No such module "anchor".10 Ma or more

Most recorded impact craters are over 10 million years old, or have widely uncertain ages. The Chicxulub impact has been widely considered the most likely cause for the Cretaceous–Paleogene mass extinction, with some scholars linking other impacts like the Popigai impact in Russia and the Chesapeake Bay impact to later extinction events, though the causal relationship has been questioned.[15]

File:Sudbury Wanapitei WorldWind.jpg
Sudbury Basin, Template:Cvt
File:Yucatan chix crater.jpg
Chicxulub crater, Template:Cvt
File:Popigai crater russia.jpg
Popigai impact structure, Template:Cvt
File:STS009 Manicouagan.jpg
Manicouagan impact structure, Template:Cvt
File:Acraman.jpg
Acraman crater, Template:Cvt
File:Charlevoix Meteorite Crater.jpg
Charlevoix impact structure, Template:Cvt
File:Nördlinger Ries Relief Map, SRTM-1.jpg
Nördlinger Ries, Template:Cvt
Name Location Country Diameter (km) Age (million years) Coordinates
Vredefort Free State South Africa Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Chicxulub Yucatán Mexico Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Sudbury Ontario Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Popigai Siberia Russia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Manicouagan Quebec Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Acraman South Australia Australia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Morokweng Kalahari Desert South Africa Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Kara Nenetsia Russia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Beaverhead Idaho and Montana United States Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Tookoonooka Queensland Australia 66 121.8–123.8 Template:Coord
Charlevoix Quebec Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Siljan Ring Dalarna Sweden 65-75 380.9 ± 4.6 Template:Coord
Karakul Pamir Mountains Tajikistan Template:Sort less than 60 Template:Coord
Montagnais Nova Scotia Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Araguainha Central Brazil Brazil Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Chesapeake Bay Virginia United States Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Mjølnir Barents Sea Norway Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Puchezh-Katunki Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Russia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Saint Martin Manitoba Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Woodleigh Western Australia Australia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Carswell Saskatchewan Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Clearwater West Quebec Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Manson Iowa United States Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Hiawatha Greenland Denmark Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Slate Islands Ontario Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Yarrabubba Western Australia Australia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Keurusselkä Western Finland Finland Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Shoemaker Western Australia Australia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Mistastin Newfoundland and Labrador Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Clearwater East Quebec Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Kamensk Southern Federal District Russia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Steen River Alberta Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Strangways Northern Territory Australia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Tunnunik Northwest Territories Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Boltysh Kirovohrad Oblast Ukraine Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Nördlinger Ries Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg Germany Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Presqu'île Quebec Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Haughton Nunavut Canada Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Lappajärvi Western Finland Finland Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Rochechouart France France Template:Sort Template:Sort[16] Template:Coord
Cerro do Jarau Rio Grande do Sul Brazil 13.5 less than 135 Template:Coord
Cleanskin Northern Territory Australia 15 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Amelia Creek Northern Territory Australia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Avak Alaska United States 10 90-94
Ames Oklahoma United States 16 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Beyenchime-Salaatin Sakha Russia 8 Likely less than 66
B.P. Structure Cyrenaica Libya 3.2 less than 120 Template:Coord
Brent Ontario Canada 3.4 Template:Sort[17] Template:Coord
Calvin Michigan United States 8.5 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Chiyli Aktobe Kazakhstan 5.5 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Chukcha Taymyr Russia 6 less than 70 Template:Coord
Cloud Creek Wyoming United States 7 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Colonia São Paulo Brazil 3.6 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Connolly Basin Western Australia Australia 9 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Couture Quebec Canada 8 Template:Sort Template:Coord
Crooked Creek Missouri United States 7 Template:Sort
Decaturville 6 less than 323
Decorah Iowa United States 5.6 Template:Sort
Deep Bay Saskatchewan Canada 13 Template:Sort
Dellen Gavleborgs Sweden 19 Template:Sort
Des Plaines Illinois United States 8 less than 299
Dhala Madhya Pradesh India 11 Template:Sort
Dobele Dobele Latvia 4.5 Template:Sort
Douglas Wyoming United States 16 Template:Sort
Eagle Butte Alberta Canada 8 less than 65
Elbow Saskatchewan Canada 3.8 Template:Sort
Flaxman South Australia Australia 10 34–541
Flynn Creek Tennessee United States 3.8 ~382
Foelsche Northern Territory Australia 6 520–1496
Gardnos Buskerud Norway 5 546 ± 5
Glasford Illinois United States 4 453–457
Glikson Western Australia Australia 19 less than 513
Glover Bluff Wisconsin United States 8 less than 485
Goat Paddock Western Australia Australia 5 48–56
Gosses Bluff Northern Territory Australia Template:Sort 165–383 Template:Coord
Gow Saskatchewan Canada 4 196.8 ± 9.9
Goyder Northern Territory Australia 7 150–1325
Granby Ostergotland Sweden 3 478–468
Gweni-Fada Ennedi Chad 22 less than 383
Holleford Ontario Canada 2.35 450–650
Hummeln Småland Sweden 1.2 ~465
Ile Rouleau Quebec Canada 4 less than 300
Ilkurlka Western Australia Australia 12 "Middle Cambrian"
Ilyinets Vinnytsia Ukraine 4.5 445 ± 10
Iso-Naakkima Mikkeli Finland 3 900–1200
Jake Seller Draw Wyoming United States 4.3 280
Jänisjärvi Karelia Russia 14 687 ± 5
Jabel Waqf as Suwwan Ma'an Jordan 5.5 2.6–30
Kaluga Kaluga Russia 15 383–394
Kamenetsk Mykolaiv Ukraine 1.2 11.63–2100
Kardla Hiiu Estonia 4 ~455
Karikkoselkä Central Finland Finland 2.1–2.4 230–260
Kelly West Northern Territory Australia 6.6 500–1640
Kentland Indiana United States 7 less than 97
Kgagodi Central District Botswana 3.4 less than 180
Kursk Kursk Russia 5.5 163–359
La Moinerie Quebec Canada 8 453 ± 5
Lake Raeside Western Australia Australia 11 34–250
Lawn Hill Queensland Australia 16.8 476 ± 8
Liverpool Northern Territory Australia 1.6 541–1870
Lockne Jämtland Sweden 13.5 ~455
Logancha Siberia Russia Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Logoisk Minsk Belarus 17 30 ± 0.5
Luizi Katanga Dem. Rep. of the Congo 15 less than 573
Lumparn Southwest Finland Finland 10 less than 458
Malingen Jämtland Sweden 0.7 ~455
Maple Creek Saskatchewan Canada 5.75 less than 72
Marquez Texas United States 12.7 58.3 ± 3.1
Matt Wilson Northern Territory Australia 7.5 less than 1344
Middlesboro Kentucky United States 5.5 less than 299
Mien Kronoberg Sweden 7 120 ± 1
Mishina Gora Pskov Russia 2.5 less than 360
Mizarai Alytus Lithuania 5 480–520
Mount Toondina South Australia Australia 4 less than 125
Neugrund Harju Estonia 20 530–540
Newporte North Dakota United States 3.2 480–500
Nicholson Northwest Territories Canada 12.5 387 ± 5
Nova Colinas Maranhao Brazil 7 Unknown
Oasis Kufra Libya 15.6 less than 120
Obolon' Poltava Oblast Ukraine Template:Sort Template:Sort Template:Coord
Ora Banda Western Australia Australia 5 100
Ouarkziz Tindouf Algeria 3 65–345
Paasselkä Mikkeli Finland 10 231.0 ± 2.2
Pilot Northwest Territories Canada ~6 450 ± 2
Presqu'île Quebec Canada 15 less than 2729
Ragozinka Sverdlovsk Russia 9 56–59
Ramgarh Rajasthan India 10 165–750
Red Wing North Dakota United States 9 167–250
Riachão Maranhao Brazil 4 less than 299
Ritland Rogaland Norway 2.7 500–541
Rock Elm Wisconsin United States 6.5 458–485
Rotmistrovka Cherkasy Ukraine 2.7 94–145
Sääksjärvi Western Finland Finland 5 602 ± 17
Saarijärvi Oulu Finland 2 less than 600
Santa Fe New Mexico United States 13 350–1200
Santa Marta Piaui Brazil 10 less than 100
Saqqar Jawf Saudi Arabia 34 70–410
Serpent Mound Ohio United States 8 less than 359
Serra da Cangalha Tocantins Brazil 13.7 less than 250
Shunak Karaganda Kazakhstan 2.8 7–17
Sierra Madera Texas United States 20 less than 113
Söderfjärden Ostrobothnia Finland 6.5 640
Spider Western Australia Australia 13 580–900
Steinheim Baden-Württemberg Germany 3.8 ~14.8
Suavjärvi Karelia Russia 16 2200–2700
Summasjärvi Western Finland Finland 2.6 less than 1880
Suvasvesi North Northern Savonia Finland 3.5 ~85
Suvasvesi South 3.8 710–1880
Tabun-Khara-Obo Dornogovi Mongolia 1.3 130–170
Talundilly Queensland Australia 84 ~125
Ternovka Dnipropetrovsk Ukraine 15 280 ± 10
Tin Bider Tamanrasset Algeria 6 less than 66
Tvaren Södermanland Sweden 3.1 456–458
Upheaval Dome Utah United States 5.2 less than 183
Vargeao Dome Santa Catarina Brazil 12.4 123 ± 1.4
Vepriai Vilnius Lithuania 7.5 155–165
Viewfield Saskatchewan Canada 2.4 170–210
Vista Alegre Paraná Brazil 9.5 111–134
Wanapitei Ontario Canada 7.5 37.7 ± 1.2
Wells Creek Tennessee United States 13.7 100–323
West Hawk Manitoba Canada 3.6 351 ± 20
Wetumpka Alabama United States 6.25 ~83.5
Yallalie Western Australia Australia 12 83.6–89.8
Zapadnaya Zhytomyr Ukraine 3.2 165 ± 5
Zeleny Gai Kirovograd Ukraine 3.5 60–100
North Pole Dome Eastern Pilbara Craton Western Australia Possibly ≥100 ~3469[18] 21°02'54.0"S 119°23'35.0"E

Inferred impact events

Some impact events are only known from events like layers of spherules or tektites generated by the impact recorded in contemporary rocks, and their impact structures may no longer exist.

Name Location Country Diameter (km) Age (million years) Coordinates
Eltanin impact Southern Ocean Bellingshausen Sea southwest of Chile (layer of unmelted and melted meteoritic debris found in deep sea cores) none 2.5[19] Template:Coord
Australasian strewnfield Unknown (likely Southeast Asia) Unknown Unknown, possibly ~15[20] 0.788[21] N/A
Nuussuaq (Disko) spherule bed Unknown Unknown (spherule bed found in Nuussuaq Peninsula, Western Greenland) Unknown ~61-62[22]
Qidong spherule bed Unknown Unknown (spherule bed found near Qidong, Hunan, China) Unknown ~374[23]
Senzeilles (Hony) microtektite bed Unknown Unknown (microtektite bed found in Belgium) Unknown ~376[23][24]
Osmussaar breccia eastern Gulf of Finland region Unknown (breccia layer found in Estonia) Unknown ~466[25]
Vakkejokk Breccia Northern Scandinavia Likely northern Sweden (proximal ejecta layer found in the North-Swedish Caledonides) Around 4-5 ~520[26]
Kitkiöjärvi impact melt Northern Scandinavia Likely either northern Sweden or northern Finland (impact melt rock found in glacial deposits in gravel pit) Unknown 658.9 ± 6.9[27]
Unnamed Northern Greenland Denmark (impact melt rock found in glaciofluvial deposits in Inglefield Land, Greenland) Unknown 1039 ± 16[28]
Stac Fada Member Scotland Scotland (proximal ejecta layer found in Scotland) Likely around 13-14 990 ± 20[29]
Paraburdoo-Reivilo spherule bed Unknown Unknown (spherule beds found in South Africa and Australia[30][31]) Unknown ~2570[31]
Monteville-Carawine-Jeerinah spherule bed ~2630[31]
S1-Warrawoona spherule bed Likely in the range of 400-1000[32] ~3472[32]
S2 spherule bed Unknown (spherule beds found in South Africa)[30] Estimated to be around 500[33] ~3260[34]
S3 spherule bed Likely in the range of 400-1000[32] ~3243[35]
S4 spherule bed ~3240[36]
S5 spherule bed ~3225[36]
S6 spherule bed ~3256[36]
S7 spherule bed ~3416[36]
S8 spherule bed ~3298[36]

Sublists and statistics of impact structures by continent

Template:As of, the Earth Impact Database (EID) contains 190 confirmed impact structures.[1] The table below is arranged by the continent's percentage of the Earth's land area, and where Asian and Russian structures are grouped together per EID convention. The global distribution of known impact structures apparently shows a surprising asymmetry,[37] with the small but well-funded European continent having a large percentage of confirmed impact structures. It is suggested this situation is an artifact, highlighting the importance of intensifying research in less studied areas like Antarctica, South America and elsewhere.[37]

Links in the column "Continent" will give a list of craters for that continent.

Continent Continent's %
of Earth's
land area
Continent's %
of the 190
known impact structures
Number
of impact structures
Asia and Russia 30% 16% 31
Africa 20% 11% 20
North America 16% 32% 60
South America 12% 6% 11
Antarctica 9% 0% 1
Europe 7% 22% 41
Australia 6% 14% 27
Total 100% 100% 190

See also

References

Template:Reflist

Further reading

External links

Template:Impact cratering on Earth Template:Portal bar

  1. a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. a b Bland, Phil A.; de Souza Filho, C. R.; Timothy Jull, A. J.; Kelley, Simon P.; Hough, Robert Michael; Artemieva, N. A.; Pierazzo, E.; Coniglio, J.; Pinotti, Lucio; Evers, V.; Kearsley, Anton; (2002); "A possible tektite strewn field in the Argentinian Pampa", Science, volume 296, issue 5570, pp. 1109–12
  3. a b Template:Cite Earth Impact DB
  4. Schultz, Peter H.; Lianza, Ruben E. (1992) "Recent grazing impacts on the Earth recorded in the Rio Cuarto crater field, Argentina", Nature 355, pp. 234–37 (16 January 1992)
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  11. Povenmire, Harold; Liu, W.; Xianlin, Luo (1999) "Australasian tektites found in Guangxi Province, China", in Proceedings of the 30th Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, March 1999
  12. Glass, Billy P.; Pizzuto, James E. (1994) "Geographic variation in Australasian microtektite concentrations: Implications concerning the location and size of the source crater", Journal of Geophysical Research, vol. 99, no. E9, 19075–81, September 1994
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  37. a b Prezzi, Claudia B.; Orgeira, María Julia; Acevedo, Rogelio D.; Ponce, Juan Federico; Martinez, Oscar; Rabassa, Jorge O.; Corbella, Hugo; Vásquez, Carlos; González-Guillot, Mauricio; Subías, Ignacio; (2011); "Geophysical characterization of two circular structures at Bajada del Diablo (Patagonia, Argentina): Indication of impact origin", Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors, vol. 192, pp. 21–34