Holleford crater
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The Holleford Crater is a meteor crater in Ontario, Canada.
The meteorite crater is 2.35 km in diameter and the age is estimated to be 550 ± 100 million years (Ediacaran). The meteorite crater is not exposed to surface. It is located on the Babcook Family Homestead Farm properties (including the original Babcook Homestead Farm, established 1803, owned by the family of the late Frederick and Jean Babcook, at Hartington Ontario (about 1/2 hour north of Kingston). The crater was discovered as a result of an analysis of aerial surveys done in the 1950s at the direction of Dr. Carlyle S. Beals of the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa, Canada.
In the late 1950s, the Geologic Survey of Canada conducted a series of four geophysical studies: (1) magnetic observations of the area; (2) seismic studies which proved consistent with the theory that it was an impact site; (3) gravity studies which also proved consistent with the impact theory; and (4) a diamond drilling program. The studies found drill core evidence containing breccia and similar materials at depths consistent with a meteorite impact site. The studies concluded that the features outlined an ancient meteorite impact crater formed in the precambrian bedrock far below the surface. The impact site was determined to be between 450 and 650 million years old. The meteorite was determined to be approximately 100 meters in diameter and travelling at impact at approximately 55 thousand kilometers per hour.
Starting in the 1960s, the site has been frequently visited by geology students from Queen's University, at Kingston. In the 1970s, as a result of efforts by the late Frederick Babcook, an official commemorative plaque was erected along the road beside the Babcook Homestead Farm by the Province of Ontario. Queen's University's Miller Hall Museum of Geology maintains a display dedicated to the Holleford Meteorite Crater.
