Kgagodi crater
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox terrestrial impact site Kgagodi is an exposed meteorite impact crater in Botswana. It is located south of the village of Kgagodi in Central Botswana. It is considered the first impact structure to be recognized in the Kalahari Desert region of southern Africa, with an estimated age ranging from the late Cretaceous to early Tertiary period. It is a simple, bowl-shaped structure with a diameter of Template:Cvt, buried beneath sediments, and lacking a prominent surface expression.
Discovery and location
Kgagodi meteorite impact crater is located south of the village of Kgagodi in Central Botswana.<ref>Template:Cite Earth Impact DB</ref> The crater first came to attention in 1997, when a water-drilling expedition came across an elliptical-shaped structure filled with sediment. The Geological Survey of Botswana then drilled a core sample from Template:Cvt deep, which suggested it may be an impact structure. Impact breccia were soon discovered, confirming Kgagodi as an impact crater.<ref name="Brandt2002">Template:Cite journal</ref> It is considered the first impact structure to be recognized in the Kalahari Desert region of southern Africa.<ref name="Info">Template:Cite journal</ref>
Structure and formation
The crater is about Template:Cvt in diameter.<ref name="Brandt2002 "/> It is estimated to have been formed in the late Cretaceous to early Tertiary Period.<ref name="Info"/> It is a simple, bowl-shaped structure buried beneath sediments, and lacking a prominent surface expression.<ref name="Geo">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Its formation involved extreme pressures generating shockwaves that penetrated the target material, a rapid process typically completed within minutes.<ref name="Ge">Template:Cite report</ref> Analysis of aeromagnetic data revealed a smooth magnetic signature over the basin, indicating younger sediment fill, and identified two cross-cutting lineaments.<ref name="Ge"/> The basin's geology suggests it could be an intersection of two fault lines, with the shallow basin fill consisting of low resistive materials that may correspond to saturated sediments, implying good groundwater potential.<ref name="Geo"/>
See also
References
Further reading
- Brandt, D., Holmes, H., Reimold, W. U., Paya, B. K., Koeberl, C. and Hancox, P. J., Kgagodi Basin: The first impact structure recognized in Botswana, Meteoritics and Planetary Science. 2002, v. 37, n. 12, p. 1765. 2002
- Brandt, D., Holmes, H., Reimold, W.U., Paya, B.K., Koeberl, C., Hancox, P.J., Kgagodi Basin: The first impact recognized in Botswana, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 37, 1765–1779. 2002
- Reimold, W. U., Paya, B.K., Holmes, H., Brandt, D., Koeberl, C., Dladla, C. and Hancox, P.J., Kgagodi Basin, Botswana: Origin by meteorite impact confirmed! 63rd Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting. Abs. No. 5009. 2000