Vredefort Crater is the largest verified asteroid crater in the world, located in South Africa, while Wilkes Land Crater may be larger but is yet to be verified. Vredefort is approximately 186 miles in diameter, 3 miles deep, and 2 billion years old. Wilkes Land is said to be 300 miles in diameter and located in Antarctica, but is over a mile under a sheet of ice. The researchers believe that the asteroid Wilkes Land crater is not even 500 million years old and caused Australia to separate from the supercontinent Gondwana.
While the answer to this question seems easy and straightforward, it’s actually quite complicated and not at all straightforward. The short answer is that Vredefort Crater is the largest verified asteroid crater in the world. However, Wilkes Land Crater may be larger, but that hasn’t been verified yet.
Vredefort crater was approximately 186 miles (300 km) in diameter, 3 miles (5 km) deep, and approximately 2 billion years old. It is located in the Free State Province of South Africa. Today, due to erosion, most of the edge is no longer in place. However, there is a visual ring that can be seen from space that is approximately 24 – 56 miles (40 – 90 km) in diameter.
The rock that was discovered comes from layers about 12.5 miles (20 km) below the earth’s surface. There is also a dome located in the center of the asteroid crater. In fact, researchers initially believed the dome was created by the release of a volcano. In the 1990s, researches found that it was due to an asteroid impact. Vredefort asteroid crater is one of the rare sites where there are multiple rings showing the asteroid impact. However, many of the rings have been destroyed by erosion and earthquakes.
If it can be verified, asteroid Wilkes Land’s crater would be even larger than asteroid Vredefort’s crater. It is said to be 300 miles (500 km) in diameter and located in Wilkes Land, Antarctica. However, it is over a mile (1.6km) under a sheet of ice, so the samples are not available for testing at this time.
The researchers, Ralph von Frese and Laramie Potts, saw telltale signs of the presence of an asteroid crater. These signs include the existence of a concentration of mass and larger rings radiating from its center. The mass concentration was pinpointed when NASA’s GRACE satellites were used to compare density differences in gravity measurements. Then, the rings were found using radar topography.
The researchers also believe that the asteroid Wilkes Land crater is not even 500 million years old. Some are investigating whether the asteroid impact and creation of the asteroid crater caused Australia to separate from the supercontinent Gondwana because it weakened the Earth’s crust in that area. Other researchers are looking for other reasons behind the mass and rings at the proposed Wilkes Land asteroid crater site. These explanations include large-scale volcanic activity.
Until the samples are tested to see if this is indeed an asteroid crater, the researchers will continue to wonder. NASA funded the original Wilkes Land discovery. Meanwhile, Vredefort crater still reigns supreme.
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