Tswaing crater

Coordinates: 25°24′32″S 28°4′58″E / 25.40889°S 28.08278°E / -25.40889; 28.08278
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tswaing crater
Tswaing crater as seen from above
Impact crater/structure
ConfidenceConfirmed
Diameter1.13 km (0.70 mi)
Depth100 m (330 ft)
Impactor diameter30 to 50 m (98 to 164 ft)
Age220 ± 52 Ka
Location
Coordinates25°24′32″S 28°4′58″E / 25.40889°S 28.08278°E / -25.40889; 28.08278
CountrySouth Africa
Tswaing crater is located in South Africa
Tswaing crater
Tswaing crater
Asteroid impact location in Africa
Tswaing crater is located in Gauteng
Tswaing crater
Tswaing crater
Tswaing crater (Gauteng)
Tswaing crater is located in Africa
Tswaing crater
Tswaing crater
Tswaing crater (Africa)
Memorial to Eugene Merle Shoemaker who showed that craters such as Tswaing are formed by impact.

Tswaing (

stony meteorite some 30 to 50 m in diameter that was vaporised during the impact event.[3][4] Morokweng impact structure, another South African crater of chondrite origin, lies north-west of Vryburg. Since 1996 it falls under the auspices of Ditsong Museums of South Africa.[1]

Etymology

The name Tswaing means "place of salt" in Tswana and the crater was also formerly known in English as the Pretoria Saltpan crater and in Afrikaans as Soutpankrater, due to the highly saline lake on the crater floor.[1]

Palaeoclimatology

Lipid biomarkers and carbon and hydrogen isotopic ratios from the lake indicate the existence of regional humid climatic periods between 84,000 and 80,000 years BP and between 50,000 and 39,000 BP. In contrast, intervals of high aridity occurred around 76,000 BP, from 73,000 to 69,000 BP, from 55,000 to 51,000 BP, and from 31,400 to 12,600 BP. Since 84,000 BP, the vegetation of the region around the lake has been dominated by savanna-type plants.[5]

History

Stone tools from the

carbonates and sodium chlorides. Tswana and Sotho people harvested the salt by filtering and decoction between 1200 and 1800. Between 1912 and 1956 brine was pumped from the floor of the crater by the company SA Alkali Ltd. in order to extract soda and salt.[6]

A scientific dispute was ongoing regarding the origin of the crater between supporters of volcanic origin (Wagner, 1922) and those who believed it is an impact crater (Rohleder, 1933) until 1990, when examination of the core from a borehole proved that it is an impact crater.[7]

Museum

Tswaing Meteorite Crater
"Place of Salt"
Crater seen from its eastern rim
Map
LocationPretoria, Gauteng,  South Africa
Coordinates25°24′31″S 28°04′57″E / 25.408486°S 28.082529°E / -25.408486; 28.082529
TypeNatural history
Public transit accessOnderstepoort Road ( M35), Soshanguve, Pretoria
Websiteditsong.org.za/en/tswaing-meteorite/
Ditsong Museums of South Africa network

The impact crater is accompanied by the Ditsong Tswaing Crater Museum.[8]

Status of protection

Tswaing is currently on the tentative list for consideration as a World Heritage Site.[9]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tswaing crater.

References

  1. ^
    doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1999.tb01399.x
    . Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  2. ^ Reimold, W.U. (1998-04-27). "Meteorites and Meteorite Craters". South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO). Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  3. ^ a b "Tswaing and its environmental effects". Lunar and Planetary Institute. Retrieved 2008-08-23.
  4. ^ "Tswaing". Earth Impact Database. Planetary and Space Science Centre University of New Brunswick Fredericton. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  5. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2013.11.004
    . Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  6. ^ Tswaing information leaflet
  7. ^ "Tswaing crater". Wondermondo. 11 February 2013.
  8. ^ "Tswaing Meteorite Crater". Ditsong Museums of South Africa. Retrieved 2023-06-28.
  9. ^ "Tentative Lists, Tswaing Meteorite Crater". UNESCO. 2004-05-15. Retrieved 2008-08-23.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Tswaing_crater&oldid=1213124601"