Scientists Identify 30 Permanent Lakes in Earth's 200 Meteor Craters
Updated
Updated · Worldatlas.com · Jun 26
Scientists Identify 30 Permanent Lakes in Earth's 200 Meteor Craters
1 articles · Updated · Worldatlas.com · Jun 26
Summary
About 30 of roughly 200 confirmed meteor impact craters on Earth contain permanent lakes, giving scientists rare sites to study ancient climates, impact geology and planetary conditions.
Those lakes form when an impact excavates a circular basin in seconds, then erosion, precipitation and groundwater gradually fill it; many others disappear through erosion, tectonics or glaciation, leaving the total uncertain.
Several of the best-known examples also preserve unusually rich records: Russia's Lake Elgygytgyn holds 400 meters of Arctic sediments, while Ghana's Lake Bosomtwe preserves long climate histories in lake-floor cores.
Canada features prominently, from the 100-km-wide ring of Manicouagan to Mistastin, where impact glass has made the site useful for NASA and the Canadian Space Agency's lunar training.
Together, the crater lakes show how ancient impacts that reshaped Earth in seconds became enduring natural landmarks, research archives and analogs for the Moon and Mars.