Vredefort crater facts for kids
| Vredefort Dome (centre) | |
Vredefort Dome, seen from space by STS-51-I
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| Impact crater/structure | |
|---|---|
| Confidence | Confirmed |
| Diameter | 300 km (190 mi) |
| Age | 2,023 ± 4 Ma Paleoproterozoic |
| Exposed | Yes |
| Drilled | Yes |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 27°0′0″S 27°30′0″E / 27.00000°S 27.50000°E |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Free State |
 Location in South Africa
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| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| Official name | Vredefort Dome |
| Includes |
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| Criteria | Natural: (viii) |
| Inscription | 2005 (29th Session) |
| Area | 30,000 ha (120 sq mi) |
Vredefort crater is the biggest verified impact crater on Earth. This means scientists are sure it was made by a huge asteroid or meteorite hitting our planet. You can find this amazing crater in the Free State Province of South Africa.
In 2005, the Vredefort Dome was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This means it's a very important natural place because of its geology.
Contents
What is the Vredefort Crater?
The Vredefort crater is the largest known impact crater on Earth. It was formed when a giant asteroid crashed into our planet. This happened about 2.023 billion years ago! That's a really, really long time ago.
How Big Was the Asteroid?
Scientists think the asteroid that created the Vredefort crater was huge. It was probably about 5 to 10 kilometers (3 to 6 miles) wide. Imagine something the size of a small mountain hitting Earth!
How Big is the Crater Now?
The crater itself is enormous. It's about 250 to 300 kilometers (155 to 186 miles) across. To give you an idea, that's bigger than the Sudbury Basin crater in Canada or the Chicxulub crater in Mexico. The Chicxulub crater is famous for being linked to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
When Did This Happen?
The Vredefort crater is one of the oldest known craters on Earth. It formed during the Palaeoproterozoic era, over 2 billion years ago. Only one other crater, the Suavjärvi crater in Russia, is known to be older.
How Was the Crater Formed?
For a long time, people thought the Vredefort crater was made by a volcano erupting. But in the 1990s, scientists found clear proof that it was actually caused by a massive space rock hitting Earth.
Signs of an Impact
One of the key pieces of evidence found were special rocks called shatter cones. These cone-shaped rocks only form when there's a very powerful impact, like an asteroid crash. They were discovered near the Vaal River.
Multi-Ringed Structure
The Vredefort crater is special because it's one of the few multi-ringed craters on Earth. This means it has several rings, like ripples in a pond, but on a giant scale. You can see more multi-ringed craters on other planets and moons in our Solar System, like Valhalla crater on Jupiter's moon Callisto. On Earth, most of these old multi-ringed craters have been worn away by things like erosion over millions of years.
Life Around the Crater
Today, the central part of the Vredefort crater is called the Vredefort Dome. It's home to three towns: Parys, Vredefort, and Koppies.
Images for kids
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Monochrome satellite view of the crater
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A diagram showing a cross-section of the Vredefort impact crater. It shows how the impact changed the rock layers. The yellow layer is the Witwatersrand Basin, where Johannesburg is located.
See also
In Spanish: Cráter de Vredefort para niños
