Rochechouart crater
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Rochechouart is an impact crater in France.
The crater diameter is still under debate but expected to be about 21 km and the current age estimate is given as 214 ± 8 million years placing it in the Upper Triassic. Since then the crater has been deeply eroded, and no trace of its original surface morphology is visible anymore.
Its centre is tentatively located at the hamlet La Judie 4 km west of Rochechouart, in the Haute-Vienne département; its surface extent includes the communes and villages of Rochechouart, Chaillac, Étagnac, Pressignac, Saint-Quentin-sur-Charente, Chéronnac, Chassenon and Chabanais.
The remnants of this astrobleme have been a big subject of debates among geologists since their discovery in the early 19th century. The explanation was only given in 1969 by the French geologist, François Kraut who definitely proved the impact origin of the breccias.
The Rochechouart impact crater was the first crater proven by the determination of the impact effects on the rocks, without any circular topographic feature visible.
[edit] External links
- The Rochechouart impact crater, at (French) wikipedia: interesting illustrations.
- The Rochechouart impact crater, at virtual-geology.info
- Rochechouart impactite gallery, at meteoritearticles.com
- The Rochechouart impact rocks, at impact-structures.com
- Structural investigations and numerical modelling
- (French) Rochechouart redécouvre son cratère (sensational article, not scientifically founded however...)
- (French) Une catastrophe écologique au temps des dinosaures
- (French) L'impact de la météorite de Rochechouart
- (French) Rochechouart, un site géologique exceptionnel
- (French) Association "Pierre de lune" - manages a permanent exhibition about the crater
- Earth Impact Database
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