List of impact craters in South America
Encyclopedia
This list of impact crater
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...

s in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

includes all confirmed impact craters as listed in the Earth Impact Database
Earth Impact Database
The Earth Impact Database is the authoritative source for information on confirmed impact structures or craters on Earth. It was initiated in 1955 by the Dominion Observatory, Ottawa, under the direction of Dr. Carlyle S. Beals...

. These features were caused by the collision of large meteorites or comets with the Earth. For eroded or buried craters, the stated diameter typically refers to an estimate of original rim
Rim (craters)
The rim of a crater is the part that extends above the height of the local surface, usually in a circular or elliptical pattern. In a more specific sense, the rim may refer to the circular or elliptical edge that represents the uppermost tip of this raised portion...

 diameter, and may not correspond to present surface features.
Name Location Diameter Age (years) Coordinates
Araguainha
Araguainha crater
The Araguainha Crater or Araguainha Dome is an impact crater on the border of Mato Grosso and Goiás states, Brazil, between the villages of Araguainha and Ponte Branca...

Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

40 km 244.40 ± 3.25 million 16°47′S 52°59′W
Campo del Cielo
Campo del Cielo crater
The Campo del Cielo refers to a group of iron meteorites or to the area where they were found situated on the border between the provinces of Chaco and Santiago del Estero, northwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina. The crater field covers an area of 3×20 kilometers and contains at least 26 craters,...

Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

0.05 km < 4000 27°38′S 61°42′W
Monturaqui
Monturaqui crater
Monturaqui is a meteorite crater in Chile. It is located south of the Salar de Atacama, in the Antofagasta Region.It is - in diameter, approximately m deep. The age is estimated to be approximately 660,000 years . The crater is exposed at the surface.-References:...

Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

0.46 km < 1 million 23°56′S 68°16′W
Riachão Ring
Riachao Ring
Riachão Ring is a meteorite crater in Brazil.It is 4.5 km in diameter and the age is estimated to be less than 200 million years . The crater is exposed at the surface.-References:...

Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

4.5 km < 200 million 7°43′S 46°39′W
Rio Cuarto
Rio Cuarto craters
The Río Cuarto craters are a group of impact craters located in Córdoba Province, Argentina.-Discovery:In 1990, Captain Ruben Lianza of the Argentine Air Force, an amateur astronomer, provided a report to an astronomy publication that included aerial pictures of a set of odd teardrop-shaped...

Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

4.5 km (largest of 10) < 100,000 32°53′S 64°14′W
Serra da Cangalha
Serra da Cangalha
Serra da Cangalha is an impact crater in the State of Tocantins, near the border of Maranhão State, in northeastern Brazil.The crater is between 12 and 13 km in diameter, making it the second-largest known crater in Brazil. Its age is estimated to be about 220 million years...

Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

12 km < 300 million 8°5′S 46°52′W
Vargeão Dome
Vargeao Dome
Vargeão Dome is a meteorite crater in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, straddling the municipalities of Vargeão, Faxinal dos Guedes, and Passos Maia....

Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

12 km < 70 million 26°50′S 52°7′W
Vista Alegre
Vista Alegre crater
The Vista Alegre Crater is a meteorite crater in Paraná State, Brazil.It is 9.5 km in diameter and the age is estimated to be less than 65 million years . Data for it was presented in 2004 at an annual meeting of the Meteoritical Society.-External links:*...

Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

9.5 km < 65 million 25°57′S 52°41′W

Unconfirmed impact craters

The following craters are officially considered "unconfirmed" because they are not listed in the Earth Impact Database. Due to stringent requirements regarding evidence and peer-reviewed publication, newly-discovered craters or those with difficulty collecting evidence generally are known for some time before becoming listed. However, entries on the unconfirmed list could still have an impact origin disproven.
Name Location Diameter Age Coordinates
Colônia
Colônia crater
The Colônia crater is a presumed impact crater located in the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil. It is a round bowl-shaped depression, without any obvious central bulge, with a diameter of about 3.6 km, bounded by a circular ring of hills about 125 m high relative to the inner depression. Its...

Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

3.6 km 1–20 million 23°52′15"S 46°42′30"W
Iturralde
Iturralde Crater
Iturralde Crater is a 5 mile diameter circular feature in the Bolivian portion of the Amazon Rainforest, first identified from Landsat satellite imagery in 1985....

Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...

8 km 11–30 thousand 12°35′S 67°40′W
El Sauce Neuquen
Neuquén Province
Neuquén is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west...

, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

20 km ? 39°06′S 69°57′W
Vichada Structure
Vichada Structure
The Vichada Structure is a probable impact structure along the Vichada River in Colombia , South America. It is most likely the largest impact structure in South America....

Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

50 km 30 million 4°30′N 69°15′W

See also

  • Impact crater
    Impact crater
    In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...

    s
  • Impact event
    Impact event
    An impact event is the collision of a large meteorite, asteroid, comet, or other celestial object with the Earth or another planet. Throughout recorded history, hundreds of minor impact events have been reported, with some occurrences causing deaths, injuries, property damage or other significant...

    s
  • Bolides and Meteorite
    Meteorite
    A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...

    s
  • Earth Impact Database
    Earth Impact Database
    The Earth Impact Database is the authoritative source for information on confirmed impact structures or craters on Earth. It was initiated in 1955 by the Dominion Observatory, Ottawa, under the direction of Dr. Carlyle S. Beals...

     – primary source
  • Traces of Catastrophe
    Traces of Catastrophe
    The book Traces of Catastrophe: A Handbook of Shock-Metamorphic Effects in Terrestrial Meteorite Impact Structures, or more commonly shortened to Traces of Catastrophe, was written by Bevan M. French of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a comprehensive technical reference on the science of impact...

     book from Lunar and Planetary Institute
    Lunar and Planetary Institute
    The Lunar and Planetary Institute is a scientific research institute dedicated to study of the solar system, its formation, evolution, and current state. The Institute is part of the Universities Space Research Association and is supported by the Science Mission Directorate of the National...

     - comprehensive reference on impact crater science

External links

  • Earth Impact Database – List of confirmed earth impact sites at the Planetary and Space Science Centre, University of New Brunswick
    University of New Brunswick
    The University of New Brunswick is a Canadian university located in the province of New Brunswick. UNB is the oldest English language university in Canada and among the first public universities in North America. The university has two main campuses: the original campus founded in 1785 in...

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