Germany’s Ries Crater (or Nördlinger Ries) is not easily discerned in space-based images. The crater’s existence was probably just as subtle to the medieval Europeans who established a settlement inside it and unknowingly matched their 1-kilometer- (0.6-mile-) wide city to the likely diameter of the meteorite that formed the crater.
Published Mar 9, 2008
Wolfe Creek Crater is the second largest crater in the world from which meteorite fragments have been collected. Because of its excellent preservation, the crater clearly shows the classic features that result from a large meteorite striking the Earth.
Published Feb 24, 2008
Deep in the Sahara Desert lies a crater. Nearly a perfect circle, it is 1.9 kilometers (1.2 miles) wide, and sports a rim 100 meters (330 feet) high. Modern geologists long debated what caused this crater, some of them favoring a volcano. But closer examination of the structure revealed that the crater’s hardened “lava” was actually rock that had melted from a meteorite impact.
Published Feb 17, 2008
Pingualuit Crater holds a lake about 267 meters (876 feet) deep. Because this lake has no connection to any other water body, inflows from other lakes cannot contaminate Pingualuit’s sediments.
Published Feb 10, 2008
Acquired April 30, 2010, this natural-color image shows Goat Paddock Crater in northwestern Australia. The slightly elliptical crater spans roughly 5 kilometers.
Published May 23, 2010
Acquired October 10, 2007, this false-color image shows Chiyli Crater in western Kazakhstan. Vegetation appears red, and clings primarily to riverbanks near the crater. Sunlight illuminates south-facing slopes, including the central peak of the crater.
Published Jan 31, 2010
The volcano was almost continuously active from the 1500s until 1760.
Published Jun 17, 2009
Crater Lake is formed from the caldera of Mount Mazama. Part of the Cascades volcanic chain, Mount Mazama sits between the Three Sisters volcanoes to the north and Mount Shasta to the south. The catastrophic eruption of Mount Mazama that occurred approximately 7,700 years ago destroyed the volcano while simultaneously forming the basin for Crater Lake. Eruptive activity continued in the region for perhaps a few hundred years after the major eruption. Evidence of this activity lingers in volcanic rocks, lava flows, and domes beneath the lake surface; the small cone of Wizard Island is the only visible portion of these younger rocks. Although considered a dormant volcano, Crater Lake is part of the United States Geological Survey Cascades Volcano Observatory seismic monitoring network.
Published Sep 18, 2006
