Red Wing crater

Coordinates: 47°36′N 103°33′W / 47.600°N 103.550°W / 47.600; -103.550
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Red Wing crater
Red Wing Creek structure
Red Wing crater is located in the United States
Red Wing crater
Location of Red Wing crater in North Dakota
Red Wing crater is located in North Dakota
Red Wing crater
Red Wing crater (North Dakota)
Impact crater/structure
ConfidenceConfirmed
Diameter9 km (5.6 mi)
Age200 ± 25 Ma
Late Triassic or Early Jurassic
ExposedNo
DrilledYes
Location
LocationWatford City
Coordinates47°36′N 103°33′W / 47.600°N 103.550°W / 47.600; -103.550
Country United States
StateNorth Dakota
ProvinceMcKenzie County

Red Wing or Red Wing Creek structure is a

meteor crater
located in McKenzie County, North Dakota, about 24 km (15 mi) southwest of Watford City, North Dakota, United States.[1]

The crater is not exposed to the surface, but was discovered using seismic techniques, and the structure has produced oil since its discovery in 1972. Red Wing is 9 km (5.6 mi) in diameter, and it is buried at a depth of about 2,000 m (6,600 ft)[2]: 335  The age of the structure is estimated at 200 ± 25 million years (Triassic).[1]

History

The Red Wing Creek structure shows up well in seismic studies. The underlying

Mississippian rocks. The structural disturbance is filled by thick rocks of Jurassic age, suggesting that the impact took place during the Triassic.[2]
: 336 

Mississippian and Pennsylvanian rocks. In 1972, True Oil Company drilled a well that discovered oil. This discovery had an oil column that was about 870 m (2,850 ft) thick instead of the normal 30 m (98 ft). This thick oil column was because the rocks were tilted on their sides.[2]
: 336 

The discovery of oil led to intense geological and geophysical studies of the Red Wing Creek area. In 1996, Christian Koeberl and his colleagues discovered planar deformation features (PDFs) in samples from two oil wells at the center of the structure.[2]: 335  This provided unambiguous evidence for shock metamorphism, and confirmed the impact origin of the Red Wing Creek structure.

Hypothetical multiple impact event

Main article: Manicouagan Reservoir § Hypothetical multiple impact event

It has been suggested by

Saint Martin crater in Manitoba, and Obolon' crater in Ukraine.[3] All of the craters had previously been known and studied, but their paleoalignment had never before been demonstrated. Rowley has said that the chance that these craters could be aligned like this due to chance are nearly zero.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b "Red Wing". Earth Impact Database. Planetary and Space Science Centre University of New Brunswick Fredericton. Retrieved 2009-08-19.
  2. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1996.tb02070.x
    .
  3. ^ Spray, J.G., Kelley, S.P. and Rowley, D.B. (1998). "Evidence for a late Triassic multiple impact event on Earth". Nature, v. 392, pp. 171-173. Abstract
  4. ^ Steele, Diana (19 March 1998). "Crater chain points to impact of fragmented comet". University of Chicago Chronicle.

External links

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