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Image: Shoemaker crater

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Description: The Shoemaker impact structure lies in the arid, central part of Western Australia near Wiluna. The crater is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) in diameter and contains seasonal lakes that produce salt deposits as they evaporate. It is approximately 1.7 billion years old and is regarded as the oldest known Australian impact structure to date. A dark, crescent-shaped inner ring surrounds the core, which consists of uplifted granitic rocks. The outer ring is composed of Precambrian sedimentary rocks. The crater, formerly known as Teague, was renamed the Shoemaker impact structure in honor of the late geologist Eugene M. Shoemaker, one of the founding fathers of impact research.
Title: Shoemaker crater
Credit: http://landsat.usgs.gov/gallery/detail/366/
Permission: U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
Usage Terms: Public domain
License: Public domain
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