Piccaninny crater
{{Short description|Impact structure in Western Australia}}
{{Use Australian English|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox terrestrial impact site
| name = Piccaninny crater
| other_name =
| photo = Piccaninny crater Western Australia.jpg
| photo_size =
| photo_alt =
| photo_caption = Landsat image of the deeply eroded remnant of Piccaninny crater (circular feature in centre); screen capture from the NASA World Wind program
| map = Western Australia
| map_alt =
| map_caption = Location of the crater in Western Australia
| map_size =
| location = Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) National Park
| label =
| label_position =
| coordinates = {{coord|17|25|30|S|128|26|10|E|region:AU-WA_type:landmark_scale:100000|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_ref =
| confidence = Confirmed
| diameter = {{convert|7|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| depth =
| rise =
| imp_size =
| age = <360 Ma
<Devonian
| exposed = Yes
| drilled = No
| bolide =
| translation =
| language =
| pronunciation =
| topo =
| access =
| country = Australia
| state = Western Australia
| province =
| district =
| municipality =
}}
File:Piccaninny crater oblique Western Australia.jpg image draped over digital elevation data (x3 vertical exaggeration), eroded remnant of Piccaninny crater (circular feature in centre); screen capture from the NASA World Wind program]]
Piccaninny crater is an impact structure, the eroded remnant of a former impact crater, situated in northern Western Australia in the Kimberley region. It was named after Piccaninny Creek and lies within the Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) National Park.{{cite Earth Impact DB | name = Piccaninny| accessdate = 2009-08-19}}
Description
The site is marked by a circular topographic feature on top of the flat-topped sandstone and conglomerate Bungle Bungle Range, clearly visible on remotely sensed images.https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Australia&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=12&ll=-17.421408,128.444939&spn=0.128409,0.342636&t=k Google Maps image When first reported in 1983 after aerial observation, it was interpreted as either an impact structure or a cryptovolcanic feature.{{cite journal | author=Beere GM | title=The Piccaninny structure – a cryptoexplosive feature in the Ord Basin, East Kimberly | journal=Geological Survey of Western Australia Record | volume=1983/6 | year=1983 }} [http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/document/documentSearchCriteria.do?from=topNav&cabinetId=1101 GSWA download search] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713220039/http://geodocs.doir.wa.gov.au/document/documentSearchCriteria.do?from=topNav&cabinetId=1101 |date=2009-07-13 }}
Later ground examination by E.M. and C.S. Shoemaker confirmed the presence of types of deformation confirming an impact origin.{{cite journal | vauthors=Shoemaker EM, Shoemaker CS | title=Impact structures of Western Australia | journal=Meteoritics | volume=20 | year=1985 | pages=754–756 }} [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1985Metic..20R.754S&db_key=AST&data_type=HTML&format=&high=457bf7462f06111 PDF]
The circular topographic feature is 7 km in diameter, although due to the amount of erosion the original crater may have been larger. It has been estimated that the present land surface is 1–2 km below the original crater floor. The impact event has not been dated, and must be younger than the Devonian age of the rocks in the area, but is clearly not recent because of the amount of erosion.
References
{{portal|Geology|Western Australia}}
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{{Impact cratering on Earth}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piccaninny Crater}}