The other largest crater is situated in Russia, Taymyr Autonomous District. Popigai crater is about 100 km in diameter. It is widely known as one of the largest diamond mines in the world. The crater has formed in the Eocene epoch, 35 million years ago. The structure itself was found recently, in 1946. The hypothesis that the crater has been formed by an impact of a large fireball was presented much later, in 1970.
During the study, deposits formed by a meteorite impact were found on the surface of the basin. The crater was named after the Popigai river flowing near. Today, it’s considered the fourth largest meteorite crater on the planet. It was ranked as one of the largest diamond deposits in the crater area in 2012. Prior to that time, deposits were classified. The research and development of mines had to be postponed for decades due to the fact that the major part of industry focused on the construction of plants for the production of synthetic diamonds.
Today, scientists were able to describe the process of crater formation in details. It appeared because of an impact of the meteorite of 8 km in diameter. As a result, there was a powerful explosion and the temperature in the epicenter reached 2 000 degrees Celsius. Under the influence of high temperatures, more than 1,700 m3 of rock melted. There were incredible emissions of dust and gas into the air. After a disaster, the atmosphere and the stratosphere around the Earth were so polluted that sunrays could not penetrate its surface. This collision caused the beginning of the Ice Age.
Next - Vredefort Crater
Sudbury Crater, Canada
Vredefort Crater, South Africa