List of impact structures in Africa

World map in equirectangular projection of the impact structures on the Earth Impact Database as of November 2017 (in the SVG file, hover over a structure to show its details)

Map all coordinates using OpenStreetMap

Download coordinates as:

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* GPX (primary coordinates)
* GPX (secondary coordinates)

Aerial view of Roter Kamm crater (2017) Bird's eye view of Tswaing Crater (2008)

## Confirmed impact structures

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Locations of confirmed impact craters in Africa, maximum ages:
Cenozoic
Mesozoic
Paleozoic
Precambrian

This list of impact structures in Africa includes all 20 confirmed impact craters as listed in the Earth Impact Database. These features were caused by the collision of large meteorites or comets with the Earth. For eroded or buried craters, the stated diameter typically refers to an estimate of original rim diameter, and may not correspond to present surface features.

Name  | Location  | Diameter
(km)  | Age (years)  | Coordinates

|
|
|
|

Agoudal[1] | Morocco | 3?  | 105 ka?  | 31°59′N 5°30′W﻿ / ﻿31.983°N 5.500°W﻿ / 31.983; -5.500﻿ (Agoudal)
Amguid | Algeria | 0.45  | < 100,000  | 26°5′N 4°24′E﻿ / ﻿26.083°N 4.400°E﻿ / 26.083; 4.400﻿ (Amguid)
Aorounga | Chad | 12.6  | < 345 million  | 19°6′N 19°15′E﻿ / ﻿19.100°N 19.250°E﻿ / 19.100; 19.250﻿ (Aorounga)
Aouelloul | Mauritania | 0.39  | 3.0 ± 0.3 million  | 20°15′N 12°41′W﻿ / ﻿20.250°N 12.683°W﻿ / 20.250; -12.683﻿ (Aouelloul)
BP Structure | Libya | 2  | < 120 million  | 25°19′N 24°19′E﻿ / ﻿25.317°N 24.317°E﻿ / 25.317; 24.317﻿ (BP Structure)
Bosumtwi | Ghana | 10.5  | 1.07 million  | 6°30′N 1°25′W﻿ / ﻿6.500°N 1.417°W﻿ / 6.500; -1.417﻿ (Bosumtwi)
Gweni-Fada | Chad | 14  | < 345 million  | 17°25′N 21°45′E﻿ / ﻿17.417°N 21.750°E﻿ / 17.417; 21.750﻿ (Gweni-Fada)
Kalkkop | South Africa | 0.64  | 0.25 million  | 32°43′S 24°26′E﻿ / ﻿32.717°S 24.433°E﻿ / -32.717; 24.433﻿ (Kalkkop)
Kamil | Egypt | 0.045  | < 2000  | 22°1′6″N 26°5′15″E﻿ / ﻿22.01833°N 26.08750°E﻿ / 22.01833; 26.08750﻿ (Kamil)
Kgagodi | Botswana | 3.5  | < 180 million  | 22°29′S 27°35′E﻿ / ﻿22.483°S 27.583°E﻿ / -22.483; 27.583﻿ (Kgagodi)
Luizi | DRC | 17  | < 575 million  | 10°10′S 28°00′E﻿ / ﻿10.167°S 28.000°E﻿ / -10.167; 28.000﻿ (Luizi)
Morokweng | South Africa | 70  | 145.0 ± 0.8 million  | 26°28′S 23°32′E﻿ / ﻿26.467°S 23.533°E﻿ / -26.467; 23.533﻿ (Morokweng)
Oasis | Libya | 18  | < 120 million  | 24°35′N 24°24′E﻿ / ﻿24.583°N 24.400°E﻿ / 24.583; 24.400﻿ (Oasis)
Ouarkziz | Algeria | 3.5  | < 70 million  | 29°0′N 7°33′W﻿ / ﻿29.000°N 7.550°W﻿ / 29.000; -7.550﻿ (Ouarkziz)
Roter Kamm | Namibia | 2.5  | 3.7 ± 0.3 million  | 27°46′S 16°18′E﻿ / ﻿27.767°S 16.300°E﻿ / -27.767; 16.300﻿ (Roter Kamm)
Talemzane | Algeria | 1.75  | < 3 million  | 33°19′N 4°2′E﻿ / ﻿33.317°N 4.033°E﻿ / 33.317; 4.033﻿ (Talemzane)
Tenoumer | Mauritania | 1.9  | 1.57 ± 0.14 million  | 22°55′N 10°24′W﻿ / ﻿22.917°N 10.400°W﻿ / 22.917; -10.400﻿ (Tenoumer)
Tin Bider | Algeria | 6  | < 70 million  | 27°36′N 5°7′E﻿ / ﻿27.600°N 5.117°E﻿ / 27.600; 5.117﻿ (Tin Bider)
Tswaing
(previously Pretoria Saltpan)  | South Africa | 1.13  | 0.220 ± 0.052 million  | 25°24′30″S 28°04′58″E﻿ / ﻿25.40833°S 28.08278°E﻿ / -25.40833; 28.08278﻿ (Tswaing)
Vredefort | South Africa | 300  | 2023 ± 4 million  | 27°0′S 27°30′E﻿ / ﻿27.000°S 27.500°E﻿ / -27.000; 27.500﻿ (Vredefort)

## Unconfirmed impact structures

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Main article: List of possible impact structures on Earth

The following craters are officially considered "unconfirmed" because they are not listed in the Earth Impact Database. Due to stringent requirements regarding evidence and peer-reviewed publication, newly discovered craters or those with difficulty collecting evidence generally are known for some time before becoming listed. However, entries on the unconfirmed list could still have an impact origin disproven.

Name  | Location  | Diameter  | Age  | Coordinates

|
|
|
|

Kebira | Gilf Kebir region, Egypt  | 31 km  | 100 million  | 24°40′N 24°58′E﻿ / ﻿24.667°N 24.967°E﻿ / 24.667; 24.967﻿ (Kebira)
Temimichat[2] | Mauritania | 0.75 km  | unknown  | 24°15′N 9°39′W﻿ / ﻿24.250°N 9.650°W﻿ / 24.250; -9.650﻿ (Temimichat)
Wembo-Nyama ring structure[3][4] | DR Congo | 36–46 km (est.)  | 60 million  | 3°37′52″S 24°31′07″E﻿ / ﻿3.63111°S 24.51861°E﻿ / -3.63111; 24.51861﻿ (Wembo-Nyama ring structure)
Mahas1[5] | Northern, Sudan | 2.85 km  | Unknown  | 20°01′53″N 30°13′48″E﻿ / ﻿20.03139°N 30.23000°E﻿ / 20.03139; 30.23000﻿ (Mahas)
Circular feature with clear ca. rim 300 m above ground level centred around the hamlet of Baw  | Blue Nile State | 5 km  | Unknown  | 11°20′00″N 30°03′00″E﻿ / ﻿11.33333°N 30.05000°E﻿ / 11.33333; 30.05000﻿ (Baw)
Circular Feature [6] | North-Central Niger  | 10 km  | Unknown  | 21°21′14.56″N 9° 8′32.24″E
Vélingara circular structure[7] | Kolda Region, Senegal | 48 km  | Unknown  | 13°00′00″N 14°08′00″W﻿ / ﻿13.00000°N 14.13333°W﻿ / 13.00000; -14.13333﻿ (Vélingara circular structure)
Topographic map of the potential impact structure around Baw, Blue Nile State / Sudan

## Notes

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1Mahas was anonymously added Jan 2015, but the coordinates do show a convincing impact-like structure.

## See also

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* Africa portal

* Impact craters
* Impact events
* Bolides and Meteorites
* Earth Impact Database – primary source
* Traces of Catastrophe book from Lunar and Planetary Institute \- comprehensive reference on impact crater science

## References

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1. ^ CHENNAOUI AOUDJEHANE, H., EL KERNI, H., REIMOLD, W., BARATOUX, D., KOEBERL, C., BOULEY, S., and AOUDJEHANE, M. (2016). "The Agoudal (High Atlas Mountains, Morocco) shatter cone conundrum: A recent meteorite fall onto the remnant of an impact site". Meteoritics & Planetary Science, pp.1-22, 2016.
2. ^ A. P. Rossi; A. Baliva & E. Piluso (2003). "New Evidences of an Impact Origin for Temimichat Crater, Mauritania" (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Science. XXXIV. Lunar and Planetary Institute: 1882. Bibcode:2003LPI....34.1882R.
3. ^ G. Monegato; M. Massironi & E. Martellato (2010). "The Ring Structure of Wembo-Nyama (Eastern Kasai, R.D. Congo): A Possible Impact Crater in Central Africa" (PDF). Lunar and Planetary Science. XLI (1533). Lunar and Planetary Institute: 1601. Bibcode:2010LPI....41.1601M.
4. ^ "Ring may be giant 'impact crater'". BBC News. 2010-03-10. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
5. ^ New Desert Crater Found Using Google Maps and Free Software
6. ^ Lobpries, Trey A.; Lapen, Thomas J. (October 2018). "Remote sensing evidence for a possible 10 kilometer in diameter impact structure in north-central Niger". Journal of African Earth Sciences. 150: 673–684\. doi:10.1016/j.jafrearsci.2018.09.020. ISSN 1464-343X. S2CID 134091686.
7. ^ S. Wade, M. Barbieri, J. Lichtenegger (2001) The Velingara Circular Structure Esa Bulletin June 2001

## External links

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* Africa Impact Craters, Earth Impact Database – List of confirmed earth impact sites at the Planetary and Space Science Centre, University of New Brunswick
* Impact Database (formerly Suspected Earth Impact Sites list) maintained by David Rajmon for Impact Field Studies Group, USA

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