Why it matters

Vredefort shows that a crater can be less a surface shape than a deep structure revealed by time.

What happenedOne of Earth's largest and oldest known impact structures, preserved as a deeply eroded dome.
Why it mattersVredefort shows that a crater can be less a surface shape than a deep structure revealed by time.
How scientists knowEarth Impact Database

Measurements and uncertainty

Diameter250 km
Depthnot listed
Ageabout 2.02 billion years
StatusConfirmed
Coordinates27.000° S / 27.500° E
Record levelextended

Extended record: core parameters have an editorial baseline, while age, depth, and preservation still require primary-source review.

Scientific profile

Preserved rocks show deformation, shock evidence, and large-scale ring elements despite immense erosion.

Data provenanceEarth Impact Database

Reconstruction gallery

More visual readings of the crater

If verified imagery is not enough, the profile receives a scientific reconstruction: not fantasy in place of fact, but a visual hypothesis clearly separated from sources.

World paletteocean blue, cloud light, and living green land
Vredefort reads as an ancient geological structure rather than a fresh crater.
Current visual previewBase plate: source image, satellite material, or editorial plate where visual reading begins.
Reverse reconstructionmoving from the present trace back to the impact event
Chronological inversionreading the object from future state back through earlier layers
The present as an archive of the futuretreating today's profile as evidence for future analysis

Visual reconstruction

Reverse reconstruction → Chronological inversion → Bidirectional analysis → The present as an archive of the future

Every profile needs a visualization preview: an existing image, an aesthetically treated source, or a scientific reconstruction.

Reverse reconstructionmoving from the present trace back to the impact event
Chronological inversionreading the object from future state back through earlier layers
Bidirectional analysischecking past-to-present and present-to-past interpretations
The present as an archive of the futuretreating today's profile as evidence for future analysis

Research history

Long studied as a geological anomaly, its impact origin was established through mineralogical and structural evidence.

Sources

CSVJSONVredefort. Crater.world record. Last reviewed 2026-05-08.
Last reviewed
2026-05-08
Source baseline
Earth Impact Database
Uncertainty note
Extended record: core parameters have an editorial baseline, while age, depth, and preservation still require primary-source review.
Earth Impact DatabaseUniversity of New Brunswick

Education mode

Facts

  • The site is part of the UNESCO World Heritage list.
  • Much of the original crater form has been removed by erosion.
Glossaryejecta, impact melt, breccia, central peak, erosion
Classroom questionWhich evidence separates an impact crater from a volcanic caldera?
CompareChicxulub