5 Largest Asteroid Impact Craters on Earth

Asteroid impacts are among the most destructive forces in the solar system.

Earth itself is believed to have experienced a major asteroid impact that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Scientists estimate that in the last 600 million years, approximately 60 asteroids or similar celestial bodies with a diameter exceeding 5 kilometers (km) have struck Earth.

Some of these impacts left behind giant craters hundreds of kilometers in diameter.

Here are 5 of the largest impact craters on Earth:

1. Vredefort Crater – diameter 300 km
2. Chicxulub Crater – diameter 150 km
3. Sudbury Basin – diameter 130 km
4. Popigai Crater – diameter 100 km
5. Manicouagan Reservoir – diameter 100 km

The Vredefort Crater is the largest and oldest known impact crater on Earth. Scientists estimate that this crater, located in South Africa, is 2.2 billion years old.

In 2005, UNESCO declared the Vredefort Crater a World Heritage Site due to its geological significance.

The largest asteroid ever discovered is Ceres, measuring up to 939.4 km. It was first discovered in 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi. Ceres is believed to have once orbited the Sun within the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.

(Also read: 5 Biggest Threats to Biodiversity on Earth)