Morokweng - Hypervelocity Impact Crater

Alternate Names
Local Language
Coordinates 27° 47' 30" S; 22° 50' 13" E
Notes
  1. In the North West province, ~140 km NW of Vryburg and 100 km S of the Botswana border.
Country South Africa
Region North West
Date Confirmed 1996
Notes
  1. Confirmation based on PDF's in quartz (Corner et al., 1996).
Buried? Yes
Notes
  1. Entirely buried by Phanerozoic sediments (late Palaeozoic to Recent), ~15 m to 240 m thick (Smit, 1974).
Drilled? Yes
Notes
  1. 5 boreholes (NRCAN binder).
Target Type Crystalline
Notes
  1. Archean granites and rocks of the Archean Kraaipan Group, composed of banded ironstones, metavolcanics and minor ultramafics (Hart et al., 1997).
Sub-Type Ironstone, Metavolcanics, Granite
Apparent Crater Diameter (km) 70 km
Age (Ma) 146.06 ± 0.16
Notes :
  1. 146.06 ± 0.16 Ma from U-Pb (CA-ID-TIMS) of melt grown zircon (Kenny et al., 2019). See also (Hart et al., 1997) and (Koeberl et al., 1997)

Method :
  1. U-Pb
Impactor Type Unknown

Advanced Data Fields

Notes

Erosion
4
  1. Level of erosion unclear due to buried nature.
Final Rim Diameter
Unknown
Apparent Rim Diameter
70 km
  1. Diameter is commonly stated to be ~70 km but is also noted that it could be as large as 380 km (Andreoli et al., 1995) (Reimold et al., 1996).
Rim Reliability Index
3
  1. Not constrained.
Crater Morphology
Complex
Central Uplift Diameter
km
Central Uplift Height
Unknown
Uplift Reliability Index
Structural Uplift
Unknown
Thickness of Seds
Target Age
Precambrian
Marine
No
Impactor Type
Other Shock Metamorphism
No
Shatter Cones
No
Planar Fractures
No
Planar Deformation Features
Yes
  1. PDF in quartz and feldspars (Andreoli et al., 1995) (Corner et al., 1996) (Hart et al., 1997).
Diaplectic Glass
No
Coesite
No
Stisovite
No
Crater Fill
LB, MB, M
  1. A melt sheet has been observed in drill cores (Koeberl et al., 1997) (Kenny et al., 2019).
Proximal Ejecta
Distal Ejecta
Dykes
Volume of Melt
Depth of Melting

References

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C Koeberl, W U Reimold (1996) Morokweng; petrological and geochemical studies confirm impact origin of large Proterozoic structure in South Africa, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 28(7), p. 108, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

M A G Andreoli, L D Ashwal, R J Hart, M Tredoux (1996) The charnockitic rocks of the sand-covered Morokweng impact structure, southern Kalahari, South Africa: Evidence for a possible impact melt origin, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 27, Part 1, p. 29-30, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

W U Reimold, B Corner, C Koeberl, D Brandt (1996) The Morokweng structure in the Northwest Province of South Africa; Remnant of a large impact structure?, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 31, Suppl., Derek W G Sears (ed.), p. 114, Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR, url

B Corner, W U Reimold, D Brandt, C Koeberl (1996) Evidence for a major impact structure in the Northwest Province of South Africa: The Morokweng impact structure, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 27, Part 1, p. 257-258, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

Koeberl, W U Reimold, Richard A Armstrong, Franz Brandstätter, F J Kruger (1997) Morokweng, South Africa: The Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary impact structure?, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 28, Part 2, p. 741-742, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

R J Hart, M A G Andreoli, M Tredoux, D Moser, L D Ashwal, E A Eide, S J Webb, D Brandt (1997) Late Jurassic age for the Morokweng impact structure, southern Africa, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 147(1997), p. 25-35

B Corner, W U Reimold, D Brandt, C Koeberl (1997) Morokweng impact structure, Northwest Province, South Africa: Geophysical imaging and shock petrographic studies, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 146(1-2), p. 351-364, doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(96)00210-5

C Koeberl, W U Reimold, Richard A Armstrong (1997) The Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary impact event; the Morokweng impact structure, South Africa, LPI Contribution 922, p. 28-29, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, url

M A G Andreoli, R J Hart, L D Ashwal, M Tredoux (1997) Nickel- and platinum-group-element-enriched quartz norite in the latest Jurassic Morokweng impact structure, South Africa, LPI Contribution 922, p. 3, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, url

C Koeberl, W U Reimold (1997) The large Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary age Morokweng (South Africa) impact structure; the search for ejecta, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 29(6), p. 80, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

W U Reimold, C Koeberl (1999) The deep borehole into the Morokweng impact structure, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 34(4, Suppl.), p. 97, Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR, url

M A G Andreoli, S Ellis, S J Webb, W Pettit, J Haddon, L D Ashwal, F Gabrielli, E Raubenheimer, L Ainslie (1999) The 145-Ma Morokweng impact, South Africa: An unusual, approximately 90-kilometer crater with associated multiring structures and Early Cretaceous mafic dikes, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 34(4, Suppl.), p. 9, Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR, url

W Pettit, S Ellis, M A G Andreoli (1999) A structural interpretation of the 145-Ma Morokweng impact structure based on processed potential field data, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 34(4, Suppl.), p. 92, Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR, url

A Shukolyukov, G W Lugmair, C Koeberl, W U Reimold (1999) Chromium in the Morokweng impact melt: Isotopic evidence for extra-terrestrial component and type of impactor, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 34(4, Suppl.), p. 107-108, Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR, url

W U Reimold, C Koeberl, Franz Brandstätter, F J Kruger, Richard A Armstrong, C S Bootsman (1999) Morokweng impact structure, South Africa; geologic, petrographic, and isotopic results, and implications for the size of the structure, Special Paper - Geological Society of America 339, Burkhard O Dressler, Virgil L Sharpton (ed.), p. 61-90, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

C S Bootsman, W U Reimold, D Brandt (1999) Evolution of the Molopo drainage and its possible disruption by the Morokweng impact event at the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, Journal of African Earth Sciences 29(4), p. 669-678, doi:10.1016/S0899-5362(99)00123-2

M A G Andreoli, L D Ashwal, R J Hart, J M Huizenga (1999) A Ni- and PGE-enriched quartz norite impact melt complex in the Late Jurassic Morokweng impact structure, South Africa, Special Paper - Geological Society of America 339, Burkhard O Dressler, Virgil L Sharpton (ed.), p. 91-108, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

W U Reimold, Richard A Armstrong, C Koeberl (2000) New results from the deep borehole at Morokweng, North West Province, South Africa: Constraints on the size of this J/K boundary age impact structure, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 31, p. 1074, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

C Koeberl, B Peucker-Ehrenbrink, W U Reimold, A Shukolyukov, G W Lugmair (2000) Comparison of Os and Cr isotopic methods for the detection of meteoritic components in impact melt rocks from the Morokweng and Vredefort impact structures, South Africa, LPI Contribution, p. 103-104, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, url

C Koeberl, B Peucker-Ehrenbrink, W U Reimold (2000) Meteoritic component in impact melt rocks from the Morokweng, South Africa, impact structure; an Os isotopic study, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 31, p. 1595, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

I McDonald, M A G Andreoli, R J Hart, M Tredoux, C Koeberl (2000) Platinum-group elements in the Morokweng impact melt sheet; evidence for an L-chondrite giant impactor at the J/K boundary, LPI Contribution, p. 139-140, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX, url

I McDonald, M A G Andreoli, R J Hart, M Tredoux (2001) Platinum-groups elements in the Morokweng impact structure, South Africa: Evidence for the impact of a large ordinary chondrite projectile at the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 65(2), p. 299-309, doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(00)00527-5

R J Hart, M A G Andreoli, M Cloete, I McDonald, R W Carlson, M Tredoux (2001) Meteorite-Impact Melt Mixing: PGE and Re-Os Evidence from the Morokweng Impact, South Africa, AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts

M Cloete, R J Hart, H C C Cloete, I McDonald, M A G Andreoli, Guy J Consolmagno (2001) Inclusions from the Morokweng impact melt sheet, South Africa; possible fragments of a palaeometeorite, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 36(9, Suppl.), p. 41-42, Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR, url

R K Dutta, E Sideras-Haddad, M A G Andreoli, R J Hart, T Cloete (2001) Proton microprobe characterization of a unique siderophile element mineral assemblage in the melt sheet of the giant 145 Ma Morokweng impact structure, Southern Kalahari, South Africa, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research, Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 181(1-4), p. 551-556, doi:10.1016/S0168-583X(01)00379-2

C Koeberl, B Peucker-Ehrenbrink, W U Reimold, A Shukolyukov, G W Lugmair (2002) Comparison of the osmium and chromium isotopic methods for the detection of meteoritic components in impactites: Examples from the Morokweng and Vredefort Impact Structures, South Africa, Special Paper - Geological Society of America 356, Christian Koeberl, Kenneth G MacLeod (ed.), p. 607-617, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

W U Reimold, Richard A Armstrong, C Koeberl (2002) A deep drillcore from the Morokweng impact structure, South Africa: Petrography, geochemistry, and constraints on the crater size, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 201(1), p. 221-232, doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(02)00658-1

H Henkel, Wolf Uwe Reimold, C Koeberl (2002) Magnetic and gravity model of the Morokweng impact structure, Journal of Applied Geophysics 49(3), p. 129-147, Elsevier, url, doi:10.1016/S0926-9851(01)00104-5

R J Hart, M Cloete, I McDonald, R W Carlson, M A G Andreoli (2002) Siderophile-rich inclusions from the Morokweng impact melt sheet, South Africa: Possible fragments of a chondritic meteorite, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 198(1-2), p. 49-62, doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(02)00497-1

G Kudielka, C Koeberl, A Montanari, J Newton, W U Reimold (2002) Stable-isotope and trace element stratigraphy of the Jurassic/Cretaceous boundary, Bosso River Gorge, Italy, Geological and Biological Effects of Impact Events, Buffetaut, E and Koeberl, C (ed.), p. 25-68, HEIDELBERGER PLATZ 3, D-14197 BERLIN, GERMANY: SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN

W U Reimold, C Koeberl (2003) Petrography and geochemistry of a deep drill core from the edge of the Morokweng impact structure, South Africa, Impact Makers in the Stratigraphic Record, Christian Koeberl, Francisca C Martinez-Ruiz, Christian Koeberl (ed.), p. 271-292, Springer, Berlin, url

C Koeberl, W U Reimold (2003) Geochemistry and petrography of impact breccias and target rocks from the 145 Ma Morokweng impact structure, South Africa, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 67(10), p. 1837-1862, doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(02)00994-8

W D Maier, M A G Andreoli, I McDonald, G J Irvine, L D Ashwal, S Prevec (2003) The Morokweng impact melt sheet, South Africa; a reconnaissance study with implications for Ni-Cu-PGE sulphide mineralisation, Transactions - Institution of Mining and Metallurgy. Section B: Applied Earth Science 112(2), I McDonald, A E Annels, R E Bevins, A J Boyce, P J Brabham, I B Butler, R J Herrington, D A Polya (ed.), p. 150-152, Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, London, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/037174503225002027

W U Reimold, Roger L Gibson, A Pelser, M Naude, Kevin Balkwill (2005) Meteorite impact! The danger from space and South Africa's mega-impact; the Vredefort Structure, Meteorite impact! The danger from space and South Africa's mega-impact; the Vredefort Structure, p. 319, Chris van Rensburg Publications, Johannesburg, url

W D Maier, M A G Andreoli, I McDonald, M D Higgins, Adrian J Boyce, A Shukolyukov, G W Lugmair, L D Ashwal, P Gräser, E M Ripley, R J Hart (2006) Discovery of a 25-cm asteroid clast in the giant Morokweng impact crater, South Africa, Nature 441(7090), p. 203-206, doi:10.1038/nature04751

J Xu, J Yang, S Akinyemi (2006) Optimization of selective extraction for prospecting in concealed ore mineralization; a case study in the Morokweng impact structure, South Africa, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 38(7), p. 546, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

M A G Andreoli, R J Hart, S J Webb, Gordon R J Cooper, I Haddon (2008) The 144 Ma Morokweng impact structure, South Africa; evidence for a approximately 240 km crater, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 39, p. Abstract 1236, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

M A G Andreoli, R J Hart, Gordon R J Cooper, S J Webb (2008) The Morokweng impact crater, South Africa: a complex, multiring structure with a ~130 km radius external ring and asymmetric radial sectores, Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution IV, p. 3048

W D Maier, M A G Andreoli, I McDonald, I A Franchi, R Greenwood (2008) Confirmed LL chondritic meteorite within the melt sheet of the giant Morokweng impact crater, South Africa, Abstracts - Geological Society of Australia 89, p. 168, Geological Society of Australia, Sydney, N.S.W., url

M A G Andreoli, R J Hart, Gordon R J Cooper, I Stengel, S Webb, I Haddon, R Skala, G Viola (2008) Morokweng; >100 km & still growing, Geobulletin 51(1), p. 12-15, Geological Society of South Africa, Marshalltown, url

F Jourdan, W Maier, M A G Andreoli, I McDonald (2009) (super 40) Ar/ (super 39) Ar thermochronology of a fossil LL chondrite from Morokweng Crater, South Africa, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 40, p. 1221, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

F Moynier, C Koeberl, G Quitté, P Telouk (2009) A tungsten isotope approach to search for meteoritic components in terrestrial impact rocks, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 286(1-2), p. 35-40, Elsevier B.V., url, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2009.06.014

F Jourdan, M A G Andreoli, I McDonald, W D Maier (2010) 40Ar/39Ar thermochronology of the fossil LL6-chondrite from the Morokweng crater, South Africa, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 74(5), p. 1734-1747, Elsevier Ltd, url, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2009.11.032

C Townsend, M A G Andreoli, Gordon R J Cooper, S Misra, I Stengel (2011) How big is the Morokweng impact structure, South Africa? A reappraisal of its present size using remote sensing, geophysics and GIS, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 46, SUPPL., p. 1, Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1945-5100.2011.01241.x

S Misra, M A G Andreoli, Roger L Gibson, S Wela (2011) Petrographic observations of shock deformation between approximately 18 and 20 km radius in the Morokweng impact structure, South Africa, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 42, p. 1102, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

A J Cavosie, T M Erickson, H A Radovan, D E Moser, Ryan J Gibbon (2012) The Cenozoic detrital shocked mineral record of Southern Africa, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 43, p. Abstract 2279, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

S Misra, M A G Andreoli (2012) Post-impact dolerite dykes in the approximately 145 Ma Morokweng Crater, South Africa; impact related?, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 43, p. Abstract 1078, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

S Wela, Roger L Gibson, M A G Andreoli (2012) Petrographic and Geochemical Analysis of Impactites and Target Rocks From the M4 Drillcore, Morokweng Impact Structure, South Africa, 75th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting 9, p. 5388, doi:10.1029/2003JE002172.

R W K Potter, G S Collins (2013) Numerical modeling of asteroid survivability and possible scenarios for the Morokweng crater-forming impact, Meteoritics and Planetary Science 48(5), p. 744-757, doi:10.1111/maps.12098

S Misra, D Ray, M A G Andreoli (2013) Carbonate-Rich Impact-Melt From Morokwng Impact Structure, South Africa, Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution V, p. 8022

C Koeberl, W U Reimold (2013) Impact structures in Africa, Abstracts - Colloquium of African Geology (CAG) 24, p. 387, [varies], [varies], url

Z A Botes, S Misra, M A G Andreoli (2015) The ~215 km Morokweng Impact Structure, South Africa-An Integrated Survey From Satellite Imagery, 46th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, p. Abstract 1739, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX

S S Wela (2017) A lithological, petrographic and geochemical investigation of the M4 borehole core, Morokweng Impact Structure, South Africa, url

Mario Di Martino, A Coletta, M L Battagliere, M Virelli (2019) Morokweng, South Africa, Encyclopedic Atlas of Terrestrial Impact Craters, p. 97-99, Springer, Cham, url, doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05451-9_17

Roger L Gibson, S S Wela, M A G Andreoli (2019) Origin of Suevite by Mechanical Mixing of Friction Melt and Cataclastite During Peak Ring Formation in the Morokweng Impact Structure, South Africa, Lunar & Planetary Science Conference, p. 1364, url

Roger L Gibson, S S Wela, M A G Andreoli (2019) Structural Anlaysis of the M4 Drill Core, Morokweng Impact Structure (South Africa) - Implications for Peak Ring Formation Processes, LPI Contributions, p. 5051, url

G G Kenny, C O Harrigan, M D Schmitz, J L Crowley, C G Wall, M A G Andreoli, Roger L Gibson, W D Maier (2021) Timescales of impact melt sheet crystallization and the precise age of the Morokweng impact structure, South Africa, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 567, p. 117013, url

Roger L Gibson, S'lindile S Wela, Auriol S P Rae, Marco A G Andreoli (2024) Shock petrographic and numerical modeling constraints on the morphology and size of the Morokweng impact structure, South Africa, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 59(12), p. 3250-3281, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, url, doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.14275