In contrast to volcanic craters, which result from explosion or internal collapse, impact craters typically have raised rims and floors that are lower in elevation than the surrounding terrain.
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13 Facts About Impact craters
2.
Impact craters are the dominant geographic features on many solid Solar System objects including the Moon, Mercury, Callisto, Ganymede and most small moons and asteroids.
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3.
On other planets and moons that experience more active surface geological processes, such as Earth, Venus, Europa, Io and Titan, visible impact craters are less common because they become eroded, buried or transformed by tectonics over time.
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4.
Impact craters concluded they had been created by some great explosive event, but believed that this force was probably volcanic in origin.
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5.
Shoemaker noted Meteor Crater had the same form and structure as two explosion Impact craters created from atomic bomb tests at the Nevada Test Site, notably Jangle U in 1951 and Teapot Ess in 1955.
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6.
Impact craters cratering involves high velocity collisions between solid objects, typically much greater than the speed of sound in those objects.
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7.
Indeed, the energy density of some material involved in the formation of impact craters is many times higher than that generated by high explosives.
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8.
Since craters are caused by explosions, they are nearly always circular – only very low-angle impacts cause significantly elliptical craters.
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9.
Complex Impact craters have uplifted centers, and they have typically broad flat shallow crater floors, and terraced walls.
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10.
Impact craters produce melted rocks as well, but usually in smaller volumes with different characteristics.
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11.
The eventual usefulness of impact craters depends on several factors especially the nature of the materials that were impacted and when the materials were affected.
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12.
Some types of craters that have special shapes due to impact into ice-rich ground are pedestal craters, rampart craters, expanded craters, and LARLE craters.
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13.
On Earth, the recognition of impact craters is a branch of geology, and is related to planetary geology in the study of other worlds.
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