First time meteorite crater discovered on mountain top

Chinese scientists have found the world's first mountain-top meteorite crater, measuring 1,400 meters in diameter, in the country's northeast.

Drone images show the world's first mountaintop meteorite crater in Baijifeng National Forest Park in Tonghua, Jilin Province, northeast China. Photo: HPSTAR — Drone images show the world's first mountaintop meteorite crater in Baijifeng National Forest Park in Tonghua, Jilin Province, northeast China. Photo: *HPSTAR*

The special discovery provides a new perspective to understand the mechanisms of crater formation, impact-metamorphic effects in unique terrains and landscapes, CGTN quoted Chen Ming, a researcher at the Advanced Research Center for High Pressure Science and Technology (HPSTAR) in Beijing, as saying on September 10.

“Most asteroids impact the Earth’s surface, forming bowl-shaped craters or complex craters with a peak in the middle,” Chen said. Measuring 1,400 meters in diameter, the newly discovered crater is located on the top of Baijifeng Mountain in Baijifeng National Forest Park in Tonghua, Jilin Province.

It is a ring-shaped depression, with an elevation difference of about 400 meters from the highest rim to the lowest rim, Chen added. Scientists believe it was formed by a bolide impact that occurred after the Jurassic period. A bolide is a rare version of a meteorite that is larger and brighter than a normal meteorite and explodes when it hits the atmosphere.

This explains the large amount of rock fragments composed mainly of sandstone, with a small amount of granite, scattered on the top of Baijifeng Mountain, which were ejected from the crater during the impact event. The formation of the crater also changed the original topography of Baijifeng Mountain, turning its peak into a double peak with elevations of 1,318 m and 1,300 m respectively.

To date, researchers have identified about 200 impact craters on the surface of the earth, more than half of which are in Europe, North America, and Australia. Erosion often rapidly destroys or buries craters in areas of tectonically active terrain, such as near fault lines or under the sea.

Thu Thao (According to CGTN )

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