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

Diámetro250 km
Depthnot listed
Ageabout 2.02 billion years
EstadoConfirmado
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.

Perfil científico

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

Data provenanceEarth Impact Database

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
Vredefort reads as an ancient geological structure rather than a fresh crater.
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

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

Fuentes

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

Datos

  • 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?
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