Why it matters

Chicxulub connects local geology with planetary consequences, giving the Earth section immediate scale.

What happenedA large buried impact structure beneath the Yucatan Peninsula, tied to one of the most famous boundaries in the history of life.
Why it mattersChicxulub connects local geology with planetary consequences, giving the Earth section immediate scale.
How scientists knowEarth Impact Database; NASA Image and Video Library

Measurements and uncertainty

Diámetro180 km
Depthnot listed
Ageabout 66 million years
EstadoConfirmado
Coordinates21.400° N / 89.500° W
Record levelextended

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

Perfil científico

The structure is buried under sediments but is legible through gravity anomalies, drilling, impactites, and ring geometry.

Data provenanceEarth Impact Database; NASA Image and Video Library

Galería de reconstrucción

Más lecturas visuales del cráter

Si la imagen verificada no basta, la ficha recibe una reconstrucción científica: no fantasía en lugar de dato, sino una hipótesis visual separada de las fuentes.

Paleta del mundoocean blue, cloud light, and living green land
Visualization and satellite context for the Chicxulub region.
Vista visual actualPlaca base: fuente, material orbital o lámina editorial donde empieza la lectura visual.
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

Cada ficha necesita una vista previa visual: una imagen existente, una fuente tratada estéticamente o una reconstrucción científica.

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

Historia de investigación

Its modern interpretation emerged in the late twentieth century through geophysics, drilling evidence, and the global iridium layer.

Fuentes

CSVJSONChicxulub. Crater.world record. Last reviewed 2026-05-08.
Last reviewed
2026-05-08
Source baseline
Earth Impact Database; NASA Image and Video Library
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 BrunswickNASA Image and Video LibraryNASA

Education mode

Datos

  • The crater is mostly buried and does not read as a classic bowl-shaped form.
  • It became a symbol of the link between impact geology and the biosphere.
Glossaryejecta, impact melt, breccia, central peak, erosion
Classroom questionWhich evidence separates an impact crater from a volcanic caldera?
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