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> Area around Wolf Creek impact crater, Australia

Area around Wolf Creek impact crater, Australia

author: Nasa/Novapix

reference: t-cra04-10001

Image Size 300 DPI: 25 * 25 cm

Wolfe Creek Crater lies on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert approximately 90 km south of Halls Creek in Western Australia. Almost circular, Wolfe Creek Crater (also known as Wolf Creek Crater, top middle left) is considered the second largest crater in the world from which meteorite fragments have been collected. Because of its excellent preservation, the crater clearly shows the classic features that result from a large meteorite striking the Earth. The Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this image of Wolfe Creek Crater on September 22, 2006. The Australian Outback appears mostly in varying earth tones in this simulated-true-color image. Deep green indicates vegetation lining the winding stream west of the crater. A road leads to the crater’s rim, approaching from the south, then turning east. The crater itself appears fairly dark brown, but a bright white splotch occupies the crater’s center. Wolfe Creek Crater measures roughly 880 meters (2,890 feet) in diameter, and the mostly flat crater floor sits some 55 meters (180 feet) below the crater rim and some 25 meters (82 feet) below the sand plain outside of the crater. At the crater’s center, the ground rises slightly, and includes gypsum—probably responsible for the bright white spot in this image—and some surprisingly large trees. Geologists studying the crater have estimated that it formed some 300,000 years ago when a meteorite weighing more than 50,000 metric tons struck the Earth at an estimated 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) per second.

Keywords for this photo:

2006 - ASTER - AUSTRALIA - CRATER - DESERT - EARTH - EARTH FROM SPACE - GREAT SANDY DESERT - IMPACT - IMPACT CRATER - SATELLITE IMAGE - TERRA - WOLF CREEK -