"Chicxulub" redirects here. For other uses, see Chicxulub (disambiguation).
Chicxulub crater
Chicxulub impact structure
Imaging from NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission STS-99 reveals part of the diameter ring of the crater in the form of a shallow circular trough. Numerous cenotes (sinkholes) cluster around the trough marking the inner crater rim.[1]
Impact crater/structure
Confidence
Confirmed
Diameter
200 km (120 mi)
Depth
20 km (12 mi)
Impactor diameter
10 km (6.2 mi)
Age
66.043 ± 0.043 Ma Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary[2]
The Chicxulub crater (IPA:[t͡ʃikʃuˈluɓ]ⓘcheek-shoo-LOOB) is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Its center is offshore, but the crater is named after the onshore community of Chicxulub Pueblo.[3] It was formed slightly over 66 million years ago when a large meteorite, about ten kilometers (six miles) in diameter, struck Earth. The crater is estimated to be 200 kilometers (120 miles) in diameter and 20 kilometers (12 miles) in depth. It is the second largest confirmed impact structure on Earth, and the only one whose peak ring is intact and directly accessible for scientific research.[4]
The crater was discovered by Antonio Camargo and Glen Penfield, geophysicists who had been looking for petroleum in the Yucatán Peninsula during the late 1970s. Penfield was initially unable to obtain evidence that the geological feature was a crater and gave up his search. Later, through contact with Alan R. Hildebrand in 1990, Penfield obtained samples that suggested it was an impact feature. Evidence for the crater's impact origin includes shocked quartz, a gravity anomaly, and tektites in surrounding areas.[3]
The date of the impact coincides with the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (commonly known as the K–Pg or K–T boundary). It is now widely accepted that the devastation and climate disruption resulting from the impact was the primary cause of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, a mass extinction of 75% of plant and animal species on Earth, including all non-avian dinosaurs.[4]
^"PIA03379: Shaded Relief with Height as Color, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico". Shuttle Radar Topography Mission. NASA. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2010.
^Renne, P. R.; Deino, A. L.; Hilgen, F. J.; et al. (2013). "Time Scales of Critical Events Around the Cretaceous-Paleogene Boundary" (PDF). Science. 339 (6120): 684–687. Bibcode:2013Sci...339..684R. doi:10.1126/science.1230492. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 23393261. S2CID 6112274. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 3, 2018. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
^ abCite error: The named reference Penfield was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ abCite error: The named reference SchulteOthers2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
The Chicxulubcrater (IPA: [t͡ʃikʃuˈluɓ] cheek-shoo-LOOB) is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Its center is offshore...
population of 4,080 people. Chicxulub is most famous for being near the geographic center of the Chicxulubcrater, an impact crater discovered by geologists...
7,591 inhabitants. Chicxulub Puerto is most famous for being near the geographic center of the Chicxulubcrater, an impact crater discovered by geologists...
this find to the Chicxulub impact included tektites bearing "the unique chemical signature of other tektites associated with the Chicxulub event" found in...
million years younger than Chicxulubcrater in Mexico and the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary (K–Pg boundary). The Chicxulub impact is believed to have...
circular alignment of cenotes overlies the measured rim of the Chicxulubcrater. This crater structure, identified from the alignment of cenotes, but also...
overlie part of it. The proposed Shiva crater and other possible impact craters along with the Chicxulubcrater have led to the hypothesis that multiple...
team developed their hypothesis, but later scientists discovered the ChicxulubCrater in the Yucatán Peninsula, now considered the likely impact site. Paul...
vibrations that develop during crater formation. The peak-ring structure of Chicxulubcrater was probably formed as inward-collapsing material struck the over-steepened...
than forty craters of such size. The largest two within the last hundred million years have been linked to two extinction events: Chicxulub for the Cretaceous–Paleogene...
66 million years ago, around the same time as the Chicxulubcrater. Numerical simulations of crater formation suggested a sea impact at the depth of around...
480 km (300 mi) wide impact crater buried beneath the ice and more than 2.5 times larger than the 180 km (110 mi) Chicxulubcrater. Due to the site's location...
Technological Consultative Forum. The Chicxulubcrater is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. The crater was discovered by Antonio...
years ago, now known to be produced by the impact that formed the Chicxulubcrater. Similarly, an iridium anomaly in core samples from the Pacific Ocean...
Jacobsen, S.B.; Boynton, W.V. (1991). "Chicxulubcrater: a possible Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary impact crater on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico". Geology...
British seismologist and geophysicist known for her analyses of the Chicxulubcrater the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary, and the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction...
earth on the Yucatán Peninsula 66 million years ago and created the Chicxulubcrater. The first project to deep-drill and core into one of the largest and...
Earth impactor, about five times larger than the impactor that created Chicxulubcrater and led to the extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs. The NEAR Shoemaker...
been reported from any of the sediment studies performed near the Chicxulubcrater on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico. Setting out to identify past impact...
third-largest crater on Earth, after the 300 km (190 mi) Vredefort impact structure in South Africa, and the 180 km (110 mi) Chicxulubcrater under Yucatán...
have been caused by the impact of a large asteroid that formed the Chicxulubcrater in the Gulf of Mexico. The end of the Cretaceous is defined by the...
million years ago was caused by an asteroid impact that created the Chicxulubcrater off the coast of Mexico, and in 1994 with the collision of Comet Shoemaker–Levy...
Following are the largest impact craters on various worlds of the Solar System. For a full list of named craters, see List of craters in the Solar System. List...
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