Vepriai crater

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Vepriai is the largest meteorite crater in Lithuania.

Vepriai is 8 km in diameter and its age is estimated to be greater than 160 ± 10 million years (Upper Jurassic or earlier). The meteorite collapsed to soft sandstone and limestone rocks thus its initial depth exceeded 500 meters but the site became soon covered by sedimentary rocks, sand and clay. A small lake has formed in the Jurassic period in the impact site.

The crater is not exposed at the surface, having been eroded and covered by sedimentary rocks during the last glacial period.

The crater is named after the town of Vepriai located at its center.

[edit] Bibliography

Masaitis, V. L., Danilin, A.N., Maschak, M.S., Raykhlin, A.I., Selivanovskaya, T.V. and Shadenkov,Ye.M., The Geology of Astroblemes (in Russian). Leningrad, Nedra, 231 p. 1980.
Motuza, G. B., Gailius, R. P., On presumed astroblemes of Latvia (abstract). 7th Annual Conference of the Committee on Tectonics of Byelorussia and the Baltic Area, Vilnius, pp. 91-94. 1978.