Rochechouart crater
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Rochechouart is an impact crater in France.
The crater is 23 km in diameter and the age is estimated to be 214 ± 8 million years placing it in the Upper Triassic. The deeply eroded crater is now exposed to the surface.
It is located 4 km west of Rochechouart, in the Haute-Vienne département, and covers part of the communes and villages of Rochechouart, Chaillac, Étagnac, Pressignac, Saint-Quentin-sur-Charente, Chéronnac, Chassenon and Chabanais.
The remnants of this astrobleme have been a big subject of debates between the geologists since their discovery in the early 14th century. The explanation was only given in 1969 by the french geologist, François Kraut who definitely proved the impact origin of the breccias.
[edit] External links
- The Rochechouart impact crater, at (French) wikipedia: interesting illustrations.
- The Rochechouart impact crater, at virtual-geology.info
- Rochechouart impactite gallery, at meteoritearticles.com
- The Rochechouart impact rocks, at impact-structures.com
- Structural investigations and numerical modelling
- (French) Rochechouart redécouvre son cratère (sensational article, not scientificaly founded however...)
- (French) Une catastrophe écologique au temps des dinosaures
- (French) L'impact de la météorite de Rochechouart
- (French) Rochechouart, un site géologique exceptionnel
- (French) Association "Pierre de lune" - manages a permanent exhibition about the crater
- Earth Impact Database