In 2008, geologists discovered a high concentration of iridium in ancient sedimentary deposits near the Scottish city of Ullapool. This metal is extremely rare in terrestrial rocks. Therefore, its increased content, as a rule, is an indicator of the fall of a large celestial body. The asteroid version of the origin of Scottish iridium was also indicated by the special nature of the location of the geological layers.
Map of the distribution of geological rocks in the place of the asteroid impact.
Microscopic traces of quartz, formed as a result of the fall of an asteroid.
Spherules formed as a result of the fall of an asteroid.
11 years after this find, the team of researchers managed to establish the approximate place of the asteroid impact, located 20 km northwest of Enard Bay. The funnel itself is flooded by the waters of the Atlantic and buried under the rocks. According to geologists, it was formed about 1.2 billion years ago as a result of the fall of a body about a kilometer across. The impact led to the formation of a crater with a diameter of over 20 km.
It is worth noting that during the strike, Scotland was close enough to the equator. In that era, life had not yet left the oceans, so the place of the fall, most likely, was a desert. Perhaps the landscape was somewhat reminiscent of ancient Mars, when liquid water still existed on its surface.