10 JULY, 2023
Ayaan Paul Chowdhury
Photo: Getty Images
Spanning several million years since their initial impact, Earth is peppered with with a number of craters from asteroids that collided with the planet. Here are the largest of the lot.
The Tookoonooka crater, measuring 55 km in diameter, is located in Australia and is estimated to be around 120 million years old.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Photo: BLM
With a diameter of 60 km, the Beaverhead crater in the United States is thought to have been formed around 600 million years ago.
Photo: NASA Earth Observatory
The Kara crater, spanning 65 km in diameter, is found in Russia and is believed to have formed approximately 70 million years ago.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Located in South Africa, the Morokweng crater measures 70 km in diameter and is estimated to be about 145 million years old.
Photo: NASA Earth Observatory
The Acraman crater in Australia, with a diameter of 90 km, is one of the oldest known impact craters on Earth, dating back roughly 580 million years.
Photo: Getty Images
Spanning 100 km in diameter, the Manicouagan crater in Canada is notable for its prominent ring structure and is believed to be around 214 million years old.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Popigai crater, also measuring 100 km in diameter, is located in Russia and is known for its exceptionally well-preserved impact diamonds.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Sudbury crater, with a diameter of 130 km, is located in Canada and is one of the largest known impact craters on Earth, formed approximately 1.85 billion years ago.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Chicxulub crater, spanning 150 km in diameter, is infamous for its role in the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs approximately 66 million years ago.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Vredefort crater in South Africa holds the distinction of being the largest known impact crater on Earth, measuring 160 km in diameter and estimated to be about 2 billion years old.