Ouarkziz - Hypervelocity Impact Crater

Alternate Names
Local Language
Coordinates 29° 0' 44" N; 7° 33' 7" W
Notes
  1. Near the Algerian-Moroccan border, to the NE of Tindoluf.
Country Algeria
Region Tindouf
Date Confirmed 1970
Notes
  1. Confirmed by "report on the presence of breccias and "planar features" in quartz from the inner part of the rim." via (Fabré et al., 1970) (Koeberl, 1994).
Buried? No
Notes
  1. The centre is almost entirely filled with alluvium, debris and a blanket of allogenic blocks from the outer walls (Fabre et al., 1970).
Drilled? No
Target Type Sedimentary
Notes
  1. Lower Carboniferous limestones, marls and sandstones (Fabre et al., 1970).
Sub-Type Limestone, Marl, Sandstone
Apparent Crater Diameter (km) 3 km
Age (Ma) 65 - 345
Notes :
  1. 65-345 Ma based on stratigraphic age constraints (Reimold and Koeberl, 2014). Previous work suggests the impact occurred after the formation of the Mesozoic peneplain, possibily pre-Tertiary (Fabre et al., 1970).

Method :
  1. Stratigraphy
Impactor Type Unknown
Notes
  1. No meteoritic debris was found (Fabre et al., 1970).

Advanced Data Fields

Notes

Erosion
5
  1. Ejecta and some of the crater's rim have been eroded; the crater floor exposed (Fabre et al., 1970).
Final Rim Diameter
Unknown
Apparent Rim Diameter
3 km
  1. A severely eroded ring structure with a diameter of 3.5 km (Koeberl, 1994). Recent field studies suggest diameter is 3 km (Sahoui et al., 2014).
Rim Reliability Index
1
  1. Consists of three concentric zones, from the exterior inward: an outer dipping zone with concentric faults, an inward dipping zone of folds and, in the centre, brecciated vertical beds comprising the central uplift (Fabre et al., 1970).
Crater Morphology
Complex
Central Uplift Diameter
km
Central Uplift Height
Unknown
Uplift Reliability Index
Structural Uplift
Unknown
Thickness of Seds
Target Age
Palaeozoic
Marine
No
Impactor Type
  1. No meteoritic debris was found (Fabre et al., 1970).
Other Shock Metamorphism
No
Shatter Cones
No
Planar Fractures
No
Planar Deformation Features
Yes
  1. PDF in quartz grains (Fabre et al., 1970).
Diaplectic Glass
No
Coesite
No
Stisovite
No
Crater Fill
LB
  1. (Fabre et al., 1970) (Koeberl, 1994) (Sahouiet al., 2014) report breccias, but no descriptions.
Proximal Ejecta
Distal Ejecta
Dykes
Volume of Melt
Depth of Melting

References

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J Fabre, N Kazi-Tani, M Megartsi (1970) Le 'rond' de l'Ouarkziz (Sahara nord-occidental); un astrobleme?, Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires des Seances de l'Academie des Sciences, Serie D: Sciences Naturelles 270(9), p. 1212-1215, Gauthier-Villars, Paris, url

J Fabre, N Kazitani, M H Megartsi (1970) Circle of Ouarkziz (North Western Sahara) as an Astrobleme, Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires Des Seances De L'Academie Des Sciences Serie D 270(9), p. 1212-&, 23 RUE LINOIS, 75015 PARIS, FRANCE: GAUTHIER-VILLARS/EDITIONS ELSEVIER

C Koeberl (1994) African meteorite impact craters: Characteristics and geological importance, Journal of African Earth Sciences 18(4), p. 263-295, doi:10.1016/0899-5362(94)90068-X

D Belhai, O Merle, P Vincent, Abdelhafid Afalfiz, B Devouard (2005) Are the complex Algerian meteoritic craters potential hydrocarbon traps?, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 36, p. unpaginated, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

D Belhai, O Merle, P Vincent, B Devouard, Abdelhafid Afalfiz (2006) Etat des connaissances et mise au point sur les crateres meteoritiques du Sahara Algerien des indicateurs de pieges a hydrocarbures?, Bulletin du Service Geologique National 17(2), p. 95-112, Service Geologique National, Boumerdes

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

R Sahoui, D Belhai, F Amrouche (2014) Field studies at the Ouarkziz impact structure, Algeria, 77th Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting 1, p. 5105

R Sahoui, D Belhai (2018) Ouarkziz structure (Algeria): Tandem-X (TDX) Images, field investigations and formation mechanism, 81st Annual Meeting of The Meteoritical Society

Mario Di Martino, A Coletta, M L Battagliere, M Virelli (2019) Ouarkziz, Algeria, Encyclopedic Atlas of Terrestrial Impact Craters, p. 105-108, Springer International Publishing, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05451-9_19