Santa Fe impact structure

Coordinates: 35 ° 45 ′ 0 ″  N , 105 ° 56 ′ 0 ″  W.

Santa Fe impact structure​

New Mexico

Cones of rays on New Mexico State Highway 475

The Santa Fe impact structure is a heavily eroded remnant of an impact crater in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains northeast of Santa Fe, New Mexico . In 2005, a geologist discovered at the cut of the New Mexico State Highway 475 between Santa Fe and Hyde Memorial State Park , cones of rays that can only naturally form when a meteorite hits. The age of the impact structure is estimated to be 1.4 to 1.6 billion years. The underground rock of the former crater now forms a mountainous region. The cones of rays are found over a distance of about one mile (1.6 km) and are interpreted as the central area of ​​a formerly larger crater.

See also

• List of impact craters on Earth

swell

• Lunar and Planetary Science XXXVIII (2007) (PDF; 223 kB) SHATTER CONE EXPOSURES INDICATE A NEW BOLIDE IMPACT STRUCTURE NEAR SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO.
• Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution IV (2008) (PDF; 344 kB) BRECCIAS AND GEOLOGICAL SETTING OF THE SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO USA IMPACT STRUCTURE.

Web links

• Earth Impact Database Santa Fe