The earth under our feet is fraught with many secrets of the past, hidden by time. One of the main issues that worries scientists is evidence of encounters with huge stones from space, which occurred at different times. Some of them have already been found, others are hidden under the ice, jungle or at the bottom of the oceans as an invisible shadow.
Kaali crater. Estonia
A giant funnel from a gigantic meteorite has turned over millions of years into a small lake filled with dirty water. Archaeologists believe that the ancients built a sacred altar here and brought human sacrifices to an unknown cosmic deity.
Chicxulub. Mexico
About 65 million years ago, an asteroid the size of a small metropolis passed the atmosphere and hit our planet with a force of 100 million megatons of TNT (which, by the way, is exactly two million times more powerful than the most modern man-made bomb). The explosion triggered earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, megatsunami and global firestorms. Clouds of dust covered the earth, blocking sunlight for many years: the Ice Age began, the majestic dinosaurs were gone.
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Nordlingen. Germany
This city is only some one and a half thousand years old, but the crater where it was founded appeared as much as 15 million years ago. The meteorite left an ideal valley, perfectly protected from all sides by natural barriers. Local residents value their history very much - still, the remains of the space wanderer are still scattered in their gardens.
Vredefort. South Africa
Today, the size of this crater can only be estimated from space: erosion has gradually eaten away its walls and almost razed to the ground. Nevertheless, Vredefort is officially considered the largest crater in the world, with a nominal diameter of over 400 kilometers.
Wolf pit. Australia
The iron meteorite, nicknamed Wolfe Creek, weighed about 50,000 tons. If he fell not on the territory of Australia, but somewhere in Europe, a new Ice Age could wipe out only the then incipient humanity from the face of the earth.
Houghton Crater. Devon, Canada
One of the largest craters in the world was left by a giant meteorite that struck the Earth over 39 million years ago. The blow was so strong that the conditions of life in this area changed. The geology and climate of Hufton have received the label "Martian toys" from scientists - roughly the same conditions will be expected for colonists on Mars. A preparatory station has already been built in the crater, where future researchers of the Red Planet will work.
Arizona Crater. USA
In 1903, geologist Benjamin Barringer first dared to declare the extraterrestrial origin of a giant crater located in the territory of modern Arizona. Despite the well-grounded theory, the scientific community scoffed at Barringer: people could not even imagine that a "guest" of this size could indeed fly from space. Only thirty years later, scientists had to admit the correctness of the brave geologist.
Uphival. USA
Aphival, or "Inverted Dome", attracts tourists from all over the world. The giant formation, splitting Canyonlands National Park into several zones, can be considered one of the oldest craters on the planet - the impact happened about 170 million years ago.