What happened at tswaing?

What happened at tswaing?

The Tswaing Crater formed some 220,000 years ago when a giant meteorite slammed into the Earth, creating a half-mile-wide crater and destroying all vegetation within a 25-mile radius. Today, a blind salt lake lies at the bottom of the crater, and the area is surrounded by dense tree growth.

How old is tswaing crater?

220,000 ± 52,000 years
Tswaing is an impact crater in South Africa that is accompanied by a museum. It is situated 40 km to the north-west of Pretoria. This astrobleme is 1.13 km in diameter and 100 m deep and the age is estimated to be 220,000 ± 52,000 years (Pleistocene).

What is the best preserved crater on Earth?

Barringer Meteorite Crater
Located in the vast high plains of the northern Arizona desert, the Barringer Meteorite Crater is the largest meteor impact crater in the United States, and the best preserved on Earth.

Where did the meteor land in South Africa?

As meteorites go, few come larger and more devastating than the 10km-wide chunk of space rock that hurtled towards Earth around 2-billion years ago, hitting the ground near what is today the town of Parys in South Africa’s Free State province.

When did the star fall in South Africa?

Some 220 000 years ago a meteorite half a soccer field in diameter, travelling at 4 000 kilometres per hour, hit what is now the Gauteng province of South Africa, exploding with the impact of 100 atomic bombs.

How big is the tswaing crater?

1.4 km
Some 220 000 years ago a blazing stony meteorite the size of half a football field slammed into the earth’s crust. The impact formed a huge crater, 1.4 km in diameter and 200 m deep.

What was the largest meteor to hit Earth?

The Chelyabinsk meteor
The Chelyabinsk meteor was estimated to have caused over $30 million in damage. It is the largest recorded object to have encountered the Earth since the 1908 Tunguska event. The meteor is estimated to have an initial diameter of 17–20 metres and a mass of roughly 10,000 tonnes.

Where is the most famous meteor crater found?

Meteor Crater

Did a meteor ever hit South Africa?

The most visible of the 4 major meteorite impact sites in South Africa lies 40km north of Pretoria and is called the Tswaing Crater. The impact left a crater 460m in diameter and more than 200m deep – evidence that it might have been somewhat smaller than the Tswaing meteorite, but travelling much faster.

How big is the Tswaing meteorite impact crater?

Some 220 000 years ago a blazing stony meteorite the size of half a football field slammed into the earth’s crust. The impact formed a huge crater, 1.4 km in diameter and 200 m deep. This crater is one of the best-preserved meteorite impact craters in the world.

Is there a meteorite crater in South Africa?

The Tswaing meteorite crater is one of four known impact craters in South Africa and one of about 170 impact craters in the world. Did you know? The hiking trail at the Tswaing Crater is fairly easy and takes walkers along the outskirts of the massive crater, and then down to the scenic lake in its bowl.

How did the Tswaing Crater get its name?

The name Tswaing means “place of salt” in Tswana and the crater was also formerly known in English as Pretoria Saltpan crater and in Afrikaans as Soutpankrater . Stone tools from the Middle Stone Age show that the crater was regularly visited by people from as far back as 100,000 years ago in order to hunt and collect salt.

How long is the hike to Tswaing Crater?

The hiking trail at the Tswaing Crater is fairly easy and takes walkers along the outskirts of the massive crater, and then down to the scenic lake in its bowl. The entire trail is about 7.5 kilometres long and takes between two and three hours to complete.