Wolfe Creek Crater, Impact crater in Western Australia
Wolfe Creek Crater is an impact crater in the desert landscape of Western Australia, measuring 875 meters across and dropping 60 meters down. Its steep walls rise clearly above the flat terrain around it, forming a striking geological formation.
Aerial surveyors discovered the crater in 1937, leading to geological investigations that confirmed its creation by a meteorite impact roughly 120,000 years ago. This discovery made it an important site for understanding how meteorites have shaped Earth's surface.
The Djaru Aboriginal people call this place Kandimalal and weave it into their stories about how the land came to be. The crater holds deep spiritual significance for the local community, whose narratives about the landscape continue to this day.
The crater sits 150 kilometers south of Halls Creek and is accessible via the Tanami Road through Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater National Park. Visitors should prepare for a remote location and bring plenty of water and supplies for the journey across bushland.
Scientists have found iron oxide fragments weighing up to 250 kilograms near the site, giving clues about what the original meteorite was made of. These discoveries help researchers understand more about the cosmic object that struck here so long ago.
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