Tenoumer crater

Tenoumer is considered to be an impact crater in Mauritania.[1]

Landsat image of the Tenoumer crater; screen capture from NASA World Wind
Oblique Landsat image of Tenoumer crater draped over digital elevation model (x3 vertical exaggeration); screen capture from NASA World Wind
Tenoumer crater
Tenoumer crater
Asteroid impact location in Africa
Impact crater/structure
ConfidenceConfirmed
Diameter1.9 km (1.2 mi)
Depth
  • 110 m (360 ft) (currently exposed)
  • 300 to 400 m (980 to 1,310 ft) (originally)
Age21,400 ± 9,700
Location
Coordinates22°55′5″N 10°24′27″W
CountryMauritania

Details

The crater is located in the western Sahara Desert. It is 1.9 km (1.2 mi) in diameter and the age is estimated to be 21,400 ± 9,700 years old, placing it in the Pleistocene epoch.[2][3]

The crater is exposed at the surface and is nearly circular. Edges of the crater rise up to 110 m (360 ft) high above the base of the crater, but the bottom of the crater is covered with approximately 200 to 300 m (660 to 980 ft) thick layer of sediments.

Tenoumer crater has formed in gneiss and granite of Precambrian peneplain with a thin layer of Pliocene sediments (no older). The crater is believed to be caused by an impact event due to basement rocks found outside the crater. A volcanic origin was once theorized] because of the discovery of basalt and rhyodacite outside of the crater basin,[4] but current evidence clearly indicates an impact origin.[5]

References
  1. "Tenoumer". Earth Impact Database. Planetary and Space Science Centre University of New Brunswick Fredericton. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  2. Jaret, S. J.; Kah, L. C.; French, B. M. (2009). "Petrographic Investigation of Ejecta from the Tenoumer Impact Crater, Mauritania" (PDF). 40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Lunar and Planetary Institute.
  3. Storzer, D.; Selo, M.; Latouche, L.; Fabre, J. (2003). "The Age of Tenoumer Crater, Mauritania, Revisited" (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Science Conference. Lunar and Planetary Institute. XXXIV: 1183. Bibcode:2003LPI....34.1183S.
  4. METEORITE OR VOLCANO?
  5. Brügge, Norbert. "The "impact" craters of Mauritania: Aouelloul, Tenoumer, Temimichat and El Mrayer". Archived from the original on 2010-02-23.
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