Geopark Ries, Meteorite crater geopark in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Geopark Ries is a protected nature reserve spanning across Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg that features a massive crater basin at its center. The basin displays the distinct structure of a meteorite impact with sloping edges and a flatter depression in the middle.

The Ries event was the impact of a meteorite 14.5 million years ago, which left the Nördlinger Ries crater, the best-preserved impact crater in Europe. The crater basin measures 25 km across and its rim rises about 150 m. The Geopark Ries has been a Nationaler Geopark since May 2006 and was awarded UNESCO Global Geopark status in 2022.

The Geopark is run by an association of the five districts and 53 municipalities it covers, with its office at the district administration in Donauwörth. Most of the area lies in Bavaria, a smaller part in Baden-Württemberg. The Ries crater rim and its villages host guided Geopark tours led by trained guides.

The area features marked trails that lead to viewpoints where visitors can observe the crater structure from different angles. Information centers throughout the region offer good starting points to understand the geological processes that shaped this landscape.

The Ries crater is the best-preserved impact crater in Europe, with a basin 25 km across and a rim rising about 150 m. Five of Bavaria's 100 most beautiful geotopes lie within the geopark, among them the Ofnethöhlen near Nördlingen, the Burschel quarry at Hainsfarth and the Karlsgraben at Treuchtlingen.