Macha crater

Macha Crater
Macha Crater
Asteroid impact location in Asia
Impact crater/structure
ConfidenceHypothetical
Diameter60 to 300 m (200 to 980 ft)
Age7.3 Ka
Location
Coordinates60°05′09″N 117°39′07″E / 60.08583°N 117.65194°E / 60.08583; 117.65194
CountryRussia

Macha (Russian: Мача) is a field of five meteorite craters located 685 kilometers (425 miles) northeast of Yakutsk in the Sakha Republic in Siberia, Russia,[1] ranging from 60 to 300 m (200 to 980 ft) in diameter.[2][3]

The two largest craters form the pear-shaped Abram Lake while the remaining three are located to the north.[4] They have been very well preserved. The largest crater in the Macha crater field is the second-largest Holocene-era crater yet discovered, after Jinlin Crater in China.[5]

The craters are the result of the fall of possible iron meteorites at approximately 5300 BCE (Holocene), which would give them an age of about 7,300 years.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Macha". Earth Impact Database. Planetary and Space Science Centre University of New Brunswick Fredericton. Retrieved 2009-08-15.
  2. ^ Gurov, E. P.; Gurova, E. P.; Kovaliukh, N. N. (1987). "Gruppa meteoritnykh kraterov macha v zapadnoy Yakutii" [The group of Macha meteorite craters in western Iakutiia]. Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR. 296 (1): 185–188. Bibcode:1987DoSSR.296..185G.
  3. ^ Gurov, E. P.; Gurova, E. P. (February–March 1998). "The group of Macha craters in western Yakutia". Planet. Space Sci. 46 (2–3). Elsevier: 323–328. Bibcode:1998P&SS...46..323G. doi:10.1016/S0032-0633(97)00041-X.
  4. ^ "Macha crater field". Wondermondo. 21 January 2013.
  5. ^ Bakich, Michael E. (19 November 2025). "Researchers discover Earth's largest modern impact crater". Astronomy Magazine.