List of impact structures on Earth

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List of impact structures on Earth

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]

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World map in equirectangular projection of the impact structures on the Earth Impact Database as of November 2017 (in the SVG file, hover over a structure to show its details)

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

Summarize
Perspective

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 100 m (330 ft) or more. The EID lists fewer than ten such craters, and the largest in the last 100,000 years (100 ka) is the 4.5 km (2.8 mi) 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 (c.1500 BC) during the Nordic Bronze Age may have influenced Estonian and Finnish mythology,[5] the Campo del Cielo (c.2500 BC) could be in the legends of some Native Argentine tribes,[6][7] while Henbury (c.2700 BC) has figured in Australian Aboriginal oral traditions.[8]

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Macha crater field map
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One of the Kaali craters
More information Name, Location ...
Name Location Country Diameter
(km)
Age
(ka)
Date Coordinates
Wabar Rub' al Khali desert Saudi Arabia 0.1 0.2 ~1800 AD 21°30′N 50°28′E
Dalgaranga Western Australia Australia 0.024 less than 3?
Whitecourt Alberta Canada 0.04 1.1
900 AD
54°00′N 115°36′W
Kaali Saaremaa Estonia 0.1 3.5 1500 BC 58°24′N 22°40′E
Campo del Cielo Chaco Argentina 0.1[7] 4.5 2500 BC 27°38′S 61°42′W
Henbury Northern Territory Australia 0.2 4.7 2700 BC 24°34′S 133°8′E
Morasko Poznań Poland 0.1 5.0[9] 3000 BC 52°29′N 16°54′E
Boxhole Northern Territory Australia 0.2 5.4 3400 BC 22°37′S 135°12′E
Macha Sakha Republic Russia 0.3 7.3 5300 BC 60°6′N 117°35′E
Luna Gujarat India 1.5-1.8 less than 6.9 < 5000 BC
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The EID gives a size of about 50 m (160 ft) for Campo del Cielo, but other sources quote 100 m (330 ft).[7]

10 ka to 1 Ma

From between 10 thousand years and one million years ago, and with a diameter of less than one km (0.62 mi):

More information Name, Location ...
Name Location Country Diameter
(km)
Age
(ka)
Coordinates
Wolfe Creek Western Australia Australia 0.9 < 120 19°10′18″S 127°47′44″E
Hickman 0.26 10-100
Kalkkop Eastern Cape South Africa 0.64 ~250
Jeokjung-Chogye Basin Gyeongsangnam South Korea 8 30-63
Monturaqui Atacama Desert Chile 0.455 640 ± 140 23°55′40″S 68°15′41″W
Pantasma Jinotega Nicaragua 14 804
Amguid Tamanrasset Algeria 0.45 10-100
Aorounga Central Borkou Chad 16 Possibly 500
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From between ten thousand years and one million years ago, and with a diameter of one km (0.62 mi) or more. The largest in the last one million years is the 14-kilometre (8.7 mi) 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]

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Meteor Crater, 1.2 km (0.75 mi)
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Tenoumer crater, 1.9 km (1.2 mi)
More information Name, Location ...
Name Location Country Diameter
(km)
Age
(ka)
Coordinates
Yilan Heilongjiang China 1.85 49 46°23′4″N 129°19′39″E
Meteor/Barringer Arizona United States 1.2 49 35°1′39″N 111°1′22″W
Xiuyan Xiuyan China 1.8 50 40°21′42″N 123°27′47″E
Lonar Maharashtra India 1.8 576 ± 47 19°58′37″N 76°30′32″E
Agoudal[13] Atlas Mountains Morocco 3.0 105 31°59′N 5°30′W
Tswaing Pretoria Saltpan South Africa 1.1 220 25°24′32″S 28°4′58″E
Zhamanshin Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 14.0 900 ± 100 48°24′0″N 60°58′0″E
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1 Ma to 10 Ma

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Elgygytgyn, 18 km (11 mi)
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Bosumtwi, 10 km (6.2 mi)

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]

More information Name, Location ...
Name Location Country Diameter
(km)
Age
(Million years)
Coordinates
Tenoumer Sahara Desert Mauritania 1.9 1.6 ± 0.1 22°55′2″N 10°24′28″W
Bosumtwi Ashanti Ghana 10 1.1 6°30′N 1°25′W
New Quebec/Pingualuit Quebec Canada 3.4 1.4 ± 0.1 61°16′39″N 73°39′36″W
El'gygytgyn Chukotka Autonomous Okrug Russia 18 3.5 67°30′N 172°00′E
Bigach Kazakhstan Kazakhstan 8 5 48°34′N 82°1′E
Karla Tatarstan Russia 10 5 54°55′N 48°2′E
Alhama de Almería Almería Spain 22 8 36°58′N 2°32′W
Roter Kamm Karas Namibia 2.4 3.8 ± 0.3 27°45′55″S 16°17′21″E
Talemzane Djelfa Algeria 1.6 < 3 33°18′55″N 4°02′04″E
Tsenkher Gobi-Altai Mongolia 3.7 4.9 ± 0.9 47°26′31″N 101°46′15″E
Aouelloul Adrar Mauritania 0.39 3.1 ± 0.3
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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]

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Sudbury Basin, 130 km (81 mi)
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Chicxulub crater, 150 km (93 mi)
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Popigai impact structure, 100 km (62 mi)
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Manicouagan impact structure, 100 km (62 mi)
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Acraman crater, 85 to 90 km (53 to 56 mi)
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Charlevoix impact structure, 54 km (34 mi)
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Nördlinger Ries, 24 km (15 mi)
More information Name, Location ...
Name Location Country Diameter (km) Age (million years) Coordinates
Vredefort Free State South Africa 160 2023 ± 4 27°0′S 27°30′E
Chicxulub Yucatán Mexico 150 66.051 ± 0.031 21°20′N 89°30′W
Sudbury Ontario Canada 130 1849 46°36′N 81°11′W
Popigai Siberia Russia 100 35.7 ± 0.2 71°39′N 111°11′E
Manicouagan Quebec Canada 100 215.56 ± 0.05 51°23′N 68°42′W
Acraman South Australia Australia 90 580 32°1′S 135°27′E
Morokweng Kalahari Desert South Africa 70 146.06 ± 0.16 26°28′S 23°32′E
Kara Nenetsia Russia 65 75.34 ± 0.66 69°6′N 64°9′E
Beaverhead Idaho and Montana United States 60 600 44°15′N 114°0′W
Tookoonooka Queensland Australia 66 121.8–123.8 27°7′S 142°50′E
Charlevoix Quebec Canada 54 342 47°32′N 70°18′W
Siljan Ring Kopparberg Sweden 65-75 380.9 ± 4.6 61°2′N 14°52′E
Karakul Pamir Mountains Tajikistan 52 less than 60 39°1′N 73°27′E
Montagnais Nova Scotia Canada 45 50.5 42°53′N 64°13′W
Araguainha Central Brazil Brazil 40 244.4 16°47′S 52°59′W
Chesapeake Bay Virginia United States 40 34.86 ± 0.23 37°17′N 76°1′W
Mjølnir Barents Sea Norway 40 142 73°48′N 29°40′E
Puchezh-Katunki Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Russia 40 195.9 ± 1.0 56°58′N 43°43′E
Saint Martin Manitoba Canada 40 227.8 ± 1.1 51°47′N 98°32′W
Woodleigh Western Australia Australia 40 364 26°3′S 114°40′E
Carswell Saskatchewan Canada 39 115 58°27′N 109°30′W
Clearwater West Quebec Canada 36 290 56°13′N 74°30′W
Manson Iowa United States 35 74 42°35′N 94°33′W
Hiawatha Greenland Denmark 31 57.99 ± 0.54 78°50′N 67°18′W
Slate Islands Ontario Canada 30 450 48°40′N 87°0′W
Yarrabubba Western Australia Australia 30 2229 27°10′S 118°50′E
Keurusselkä Western Finland Finland 30 1400–1500 62°8′N 24°36′E
Shoemaker Western Australia Australia 30 1630? 25°52′S 120°53′E
Mistastin Newfoundland and Labrador Canada 28 36.4 55°53′N 63°18′W
Clearwater East Quebec Canada 26 465 56°4′N 74°6′W
Kamensk Southern Federal District Russia 25 49 48°21′N 40°30′E
Steen River Alberta Canada 25 91 59°30′N 117°38′W
Strangways Northern Territory Australia 25 646 15°12′S 133°35′E
Tunnunik Northwest Territories Canada 25 430–450 72°28′N 113°58′W
Boltysh Kirovohrad Oblast Ukraine 24 65.17 48°54′N 32°15′E
Nördlinger Ries Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg Germany 24 14.808 ± 0.038 48°53′N 10°34′E
Presqu'île Quebec Canada 24 less than 500 49°43′N 74°48′W
Haughton Nunavut Canada 23 39 75°23′N 89°40′W
Lappajärvi Western Finland Finland 23 77.85 ± 0.78 63°12′N 23°42′E
Rochechouart France France 23 206.92 ± 0.32[16] 45°49′N 0°47′E
Cerro do Jarau Rio Grande do Sul Brazil 13.5 less than 135 30°11′S 56°31′W
Cleanskin Northern Territory Australia 15 520–1400 18°10′S 137°56′E
Amelia Creek Northern Territory Australia 20 600–1640 20°55′S 134°50′E
Avak Alaska United States 10 90-94
Ames Oklahoma United States 16 458–478 36°14′N 98°11′W
Beyenchime-Salaatin Sakha Russia 8 Likely less than 66
B.P. Structure Cyrenaica Libya 3.2 less than 120 25°19′N 24°18′E
Brent Ontario Canada 3.4 453.2 ± 6.0[17] 46°4′N 78°28′W
Calvin Michigan United States 8.5 444–458 41°49′N 85°56′W
Chiyli Aktobe Kazakhstan 5.5 41–56 49°10′N 57°50′E
Chukcha Taymyr Russia 6 less than 70 75°38′N 98°35′E
Cloud Creek Wyoming United States 7 166–227 43°4′N 106°45′W
Colonia São Paulo Brazil 3.6 5–36 23°52′S 46°42′W
Connolly Basin Western Australia Australia 9 23–36 23°32′S 124°45′E
Couture Quebec Canada 8 429 ± 25 60°7′N 75°18′W
Crooked Creek Missouri United States 7 323–485
Decaturville 6 less than 323
Decorah Iowa United States 5.6 464–467
Deep Bay Saskatchewan Canada 13 95–102
Dellen Gavleborgs Sweden 19 140.82 ± 0.51
Des Plaines Illinois United States 8 less than 299
Dhala Madhya Pradesh India 11 1700–2500
Dobele Dobele Latvia 4.5 252–359
Douglas Wyoming United States 16 ~280
Eagle Butte Alberta Canada 8 less than 65
Elbow Saskatchewan Canada 3.8 201–393
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 32 165–383 23°49′S 132°18′E
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
Janisjarvi 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 20 40 65°31′N 95°56′E
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 20 169 49°35′N 32°55′E
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
Saaksjarvi Western Finland Finland 5 602 ± 17
Saarijarvi 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
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Inferred impact events

Summarize
Perspective

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.

More information Name, Location ...
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] 57°47′S 90°47′W
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]
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Sublists and statistics of impact structures by continent

As of 2022, 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.

More information Continent, Continent's % of Earth's land area ...
ContinentContinent's %
of Earth's
land area
Continent's %
of the 190
known impact structures
Number
of impact structures
Asia and Russia30%16%31
Africa20%11%20
North America16%32%60
South America12%6%11
Antarctica9%0%1
Europe7%22%41
Australia6%14%27
Total100%100%190
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See also

References

Further reading

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