World's 1st mountaintop impact crater discovered in northeastern China
By Stephanie Pappas published about 19 hours ago
A two-peaked mountain in northeastern China is the site of the world's first confirmed mountaintop crater.
Chinese scientists have found evidence that Baijifeng Mountain was hit by an object from space, resulting in its twin peaks and unique impact structure. (Image credit: Centre for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research)
A nearly mile-wide (1.6 kilometer) divot in a Chinese mountaintop is actually an impact crater from a long-ago meteorite landing.
The newly discovered crater, located in northeastern China not far from the North Korean border, is the first confirmed mountaintop crater on Earth. Researchers aren't sure when the impact happened, but it left a circular depression and split the mountaintop into two peaks, known as Front Baijifeng and Rear Baijifeng.
The mountain peaks are littered with rock fragments known locally as "celestial stone," which turns out to be a scientifically accurate moniker. According to a new study, published Sept. 1 in the journal Matter and Radiation at Extremes, rocks on the peaks bear the telltale shock patterns of an impact with a space object.
The researchers were intrigued by the shape of the depression between the mountain's two peaks, which spans about 4,593 feet (1,400 meters), and by the debris-like scattering of large sandstone fragments on the mountain.
More:
https://www.space.com/earths-1st-mountaintop-impact-crater-discovered-northeastern-china
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