Wanapitei - Hypervelocity Impact Crater

Alternate Names
Local Language
Coordinates 46° 44' 24" N; 80° 44' 29" W
Notes
  1. 40 km NE of Sudbury in Central Ontario.
Country Canada
Region Ontario
Date Confirmed 1972
Notes
  1. PDFs in quartz, diaplectic quartz and feldspar glasses, and impact melt glasses, all restructed to glacial boulders on the south side of the lake (Dence and Popelar, 1972).
Buried? Yes
Notes
  1. Within a lake
Drilled? No
Target Type Crystalline
Notes
  1. Metasedimentary rocks of Huronian age, Nippissing Intrusives, and Archean gneisses of the Southern Province (Dence and Popelar, 1972).
Sub-Type Gneiss, Intrusives, Metasedimentary
Apparent Crater Diameter (km) 7.5 km
Age (Ma) 37.7 ± 1.2
Notes :
  1. 37.7 ± 1.2 Ma determined by 40Ar/39Ar (Bottomley et al., 1979) recalculated by (Schmieder and Kring 2020); the pre-recalculation age was 37.2 ± 1.2 Ma. Additional age constraints: (Winzer et al., 1976) determined an age of 36.9 ± 2.5 Ma from K-Ar.

Method :
  1. 40Ar/39Ar
Impactor Type Ordinary chondrite
Notes
  1. Ratios of Ir, Os, Pd, Ni, Cr and Co (Wolf et al., 1980) are interpreted as indicating and LL chondrite. PGE geochemistry suggests impactor was LL chondrite (Evans et al., 1993).

Advanced Data Fields

Notes

Erosion
5
  1. The outline has been enlarged and modified by erosion, lowering the original surface by 300 m. Breccia has been scoured from the crater floor by glaciation and deposited on the southern shoreline (Dence and Popelar, 1972).
Final Rim Diameter
Unknown
Apparent Rim Diameter
7.5 km
  1. Crater with a poorly defined and estimated diameter of ~7.5 km lies within the 12 km diameter Wanapitei Lake (Dence and Popelar, 1972) (L'Heureux et al., 2005).
Rim Reliability Index
3
  1. The lake has a semi-circular northern shoreline and a highly indented southern margin. There is no evidence of central uplift (Dence and Popelar, 1972).
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
Ordinary chondrite
  1. Ratios of Ir, Os, Pd, Ni, Cr and Co (Wolf et al., 1980) are interpreted as indicating and LL chondrite. PGE geochemistry suggests impactor was LL chondrite (Evans et al., 1993).
Other Shock Metamorphism
Maskelynite Planar features Ballen quartz Mosaicism
  1. Maskelynite found in diabase-gabbro clasts, which are the most common non-sedimentary clasts (Grieve and Ber, 1994). Maskelynite present (Schuraytz and Dressler, 1997). Planar elements in quartz and feldspar (Winzer, Lum, and Schuhmann, 1976) Planar features in quartzite with orientation {1013}, see Fig. 5 (Dence and Popelar, 1972). Ballen quartz (Dressler, Crabtree, and Schuraytz, 1997). "Other minerals derived from the country rocks such as pyroxene and epidote have mosaic textures which also are probably the result of moderate to strong shock metamorphism" (Dence and Popelar, 1972)."
Shatter Cones
No
  1. "Most shatter cone locations reported by (Dence and Popelar, 1972) were on the shore or on the islands of Lake Wanapitei. However, shatter cones were also found by the author up to 5 km northwest of the lake" (Dressler, 1982). ***THE MAPS AND SHATTER CONE LOCATIONS THAT DRESSLER REFERS TO ARE NOT IN THE REPORT BY Dence and (Popelar, 1972). "On the east and south sides (of the lake), the rocks exposed nearest to the centre of the lake are either Nipissing diabase or Mississagi quartzite. Some of the latter contain shatter cones similar to those recorded elsewhere around the Sudbury Basin (Guy-Bray, pers. comm., 1970), but are otherwise no more strongly deformed than bedrock farther from the lake. There is thus little indication in the rocks in situ that the lake has an unusual origin" (Dence and Popelar, 1972). "to date, no shock metamorphosed rocks unequivocally related to the Wanapitei impact structure have been found in place. Shatter cones have been noted in a few places on the shore and on islands of the lake. Both the shatter cones and the microscopic shock metamorphic features were noted outside the assumed Wanapitei structure and, therefore, are related to the 1.85 Ga old Sudbury impact structure within which the Wanapitei structure is located" (Dressler, Crabtree, and Schuraytz, 1997). "It is not clear whether the shatter cones should be attributed to the Wanapitei or the Sudbury impact events as the lake is located within the larger Sudbuy structure" (Ugalde, 2006).
Planar Fractures
No
  1. Did not find in literature.
Planar Deformation Features
Yes
  1. PDF in quartz and feldspar. Presence of vary scarce PDFs (Dressler, Crabtree, and Schuraytz, 1997). "In the sample studied here, we have noted only one small quartz grain with two sets of PDFs, and only in clast B did we note a few grains of shock- isotropic, nonrecrystallized, diapleclic quartz. The development of PDFs appears to be depressed in sorne strongly shocked (meta)sedi- mentary rocks" (Dressler, Crabtree, and Schuraytz, 1997). PDF in quartz (Grieve and Ber, 1994).
Diaplectic Glass
Yes
  1. Diaplectic glasses of quartz and feldspar (Grieve and Ber, 1994). "shocked feldspathic quartzite, contains coesite in clasts of diaplectic silica glass" (Dence, Robertson, and Wirthlin, 1974). Minor diaplectic quartz (Dressler, Crabtree, and Schuraytz, 1997). Diaplectic quartz and feldspar in metasediments, as well as mineral clasts in suevite samples, and lithic clasts (Grieve and Ber, 1994). Diaplectic quartz in the glassy impact melt rocks (Grieve and Ber, 1994). Diaplectic quartz glasses (Dence and Popelar, 1972).
Coesite
Yes
  1. Shocked feldspathic quartzite, contains coesite in clasts of diaplectic silica glass (Dence, Robertson, and Wirthlin, 1974).
Stisovite
No
  1. Did not find in literature.
Crater Fill
LB, MB, M
  1. Melt-bearing breccias (referred to as suevites and glass breccias) with up to 50% of glass fragments. Their matrix is fine grained and contains glass clasts as well. Polymict lithic breccias are also reported. Impact melt rocks have a glassy matrix and consist of up to "30% mineral and lithic clasts". Vesicles and fluidal textures are observed (Dence et al., 1974) (Ber, 1992) (Grieve and Ber, 1994). Samples are glacial float. All samples are glacial float. Impact melt rocks (referred to impact melt breccias) sample from glacial drift contains rounded, cream to light-grey vesicular rocks (Dance et al., 1974). Suevite (Grieve and Ber, 1994). Suevites characterized by large inclusions of glassy and lithic fragments in a light coloured fragmental matrix; vesicular glassy melt rocks: contain matrix of vesicular glass with quartz, feldspar inclusions; two types of glass in this rock: homogeneous glass with perlitic cracks and vesicular brown glass (Ber, 1992). "Polymict breccias containing shocked and unshocked lithic fragments in a matrix of finely comminuted rock and mineral fragments to glassy grey or greyish white boulders composed mainly of fresh or slightly devitrified glass with some thetomorphic minerals remaining" (Winzer et al, 1975). "Phocked clasts in suevite breccia sample contains either feldspathic quartzite, siltstone, diabase or amphibolite" (Winzer et al, 1975).
Proximal Ejecta
Distal Ejecta
Dykes
Volume of Melt
Depth of Melting

References

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Geological Survey of Canada (1857) Topographical plan of part of the Wanapitei River (Ontario), Geological Survey of Canada, Multicolored Map, p. 0-1 sheet, Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, ON

T T Quirke (1922) Wanapitei Lake map area [Sudbury district, Ontario], Summary Report of the Geological Survey of Canada, p. 34-50, Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, ON

L F Kindle (1933) Moose Mountain-Wanapitei area, Annual Report - Ontario Department of Mines 41, Part 4, p. 29-49, Ontario Department of Mines, Toronto, ON, url

P M Millman (1971) The space scars of Earth, Nature (London) 232(5307), p. 161-164, Macmillan Journals, London

M R Dence, J Popelar (1971) Evidence for an impact origin for Lake Wanapitei, Ontario, Geological Association of Canada-Mineralogical Association of Canada, Joint Annual Meeting, May 13-15, 1971, Abstracts of Papers, Laurentian Univ., Sudbury, Ontario

J Popelar (1972) Gravity interpretation of the Sudbury area, Geological Association of Canada, Special Paper NO. 10, p. 103-111

M R Dence, J V Guy-Bray (1972) Some astroblemes, craters and cryptovolcanic structures in Ontario and Quebec, International Geological Congress, 24th

J F Clark (1973) Scopas surveys at Lake Wanapitei, Ontario, Canada, Meteoritics 8, p. 24-25, url

M R Dence, P B Robertson, R L Wirthlin (1974) Coesite from the Lake Wanapitei Crater, Ontario, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 22(2), p. 118-122, Elsevier, Amsterdam, url

S Winzer (1975) Does impact produce chemical fractionation?, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union 56(6), p. 389-390, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC

P B Robertson, R A F Grieve (1975) Impact structures in Canada: Their recognition and characteristics, Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada 69, p. 1-21, url

S Winzer, R K L Lum, S Schuhmann (1976) Rb, Sr and strontium isotopic composition, K/Ar age and large ion lithophile trace element abundances in rocks and glasses from the Wanapitei Lake impact structure, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 40(1), p. 51-57, Pergamon, Oxford, url

R J Bottomley, D York, R A F Grieve (1979) Possible source craters for the North American tektites; a geochronological investigation, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union 60(18), p. 309, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC

B O Dressler (1980) Wanapitei Lake area (southern part), district of Sudbury, Wanapitei Lake area (southern part), District of Sudbury(P2228), Ont. Geol. Surv., Ottawa, Ont.

B O Dressler (1980) Geology of the Wanapitei Lake area, district of Sudbury, Open File Report - Ontario Geological Survey, p. 150, Ontario Geological Survey, Toronto, ON, url

G C Finn (1981) Petrogenesis of the Wanapitei gabbronorite intrusion, a Nipissing-type diabase, from northeastern Ontario, Petrogenesis of the Wanapitei gabbronorite intrusion, a Nipissing-type diabase, from northeastern Ontario, p. 213, url

G C Finn, A D Edgar, A S Brown (1983) The Wanapitei gabbronorite intrusion, northeastern Ontario; an example of reverse differentiation, Program with Abstracts - Geological Association of Canada; Mineralogical Association of Canada: Joint Annual Meeting 8, p. 1, Geological Association of Canada, Waterloo, ON

W F Rowell (1984) Platinum group elements and gold in the Wanapitei Nipissing-type intrusion, northeastern Ontario, Platinum group elements and gold in the Wanapitei nipissing-type intrusion, northeastern Ontario, p. 86

H H Ngo, G J Wasserburg, B P Glass (1985) Nd and Sr isotopic compositions of tektite material from Barbados and their relationship to North American tektites, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 49(6), p. 1479-1485, Pergamon, Oxford, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(85)90297-2

G C Finn, A D Edgar (1986) The Wanapitei Intrusion, Northeastern Ontario, Canada - An example of a mafic intrusion with cycles of reverse differentiation, Neues Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie-Abhandlungen 154(1), p. 75-91

D H Rousell, D D Trevisiol (1988) Geology of the mineralized zone of the Wanapitei Complex, Grenville Front, Ontario, Mineralium Deposita 23(2), p. 138-149, Springer-Verlag, Berlin

H D Meyn, M K Matthews (1991) A study of some uranium occurrences at the base of the Huronian Supergroup in an area north of Lake Wanapitei, district of Sudbury, Ontario, Open File Report - Ontario Geological Survey, p. 58, Ontario Geological Survey, Toronto, ON, url

T J Ber (1992) The geochemistry of shocked and country rocks from the Lake Wanapitei impact structure, Ontario, The geochemistry of shocked and country rocks from the Lake Wanapitei impact structure, Ontario, p. 122, url

R A F Grieve, T J Ber (1994) Wanapitei impact structure; reconstruction of the event, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 25, Part 1, p. 479-480, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, url

R A F Grieve, T J Ber (1994) Characterization of an impact even from non in situ samples: The Wanapitei sample, Second International Workshop. Impact cratering and evolution of Planet Earth. The identification and characterization of Impacts., p. 1994

R A F Grieve, T J Ber (1994) Shocked lithologies at the Wanapitei impact structure, Ontario, Canada, Meteoritics 29(5), p. 621-631, Arizona State University, Center for Meteorite Studies, Tempe, AZ

S A Prevec, A D Brandon, G G Goles (1995) Sm-Nd isotopic evidence for crustal contamination in the ca. 1750 Ma Wanapitei Complex, western Grenville Province, Ontario, Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences = Revue Canadienne des Sciences de la Terre 32(4), p. 486-495, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, ON, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e95-041

B O Dressler, D Crabtree, B C Schuraytz (1997) Incipient melt formation and devitrification at the Wanapitei impact structure, Ontario, Canada, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 32(2), p. 249-258, Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1945-5100.1997.tb01263.x

B C Schuraytz, B O Dressler (1997) Ballen-structured quartz in glasses of the Wanapitei impact structure, Ontario, Canada (abstract), Lunar and Planetary Science XXVIII, p. 1265-1266, pdf

C H Polsky, J F McHone (1998) Raman spectroscopic confirmation of metastable cristobalite in melt samples from the Wanapitei impact structure, Lunar and Planetary Inst., International Conference XXIX, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX

J Whitehead, J G Spray, R A F Grieve (2002) Origin of "toasted" quartz in terrestrial impact structures, Geology (Boulder) 30(5), p. 431-434, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

E L'Heureux, B Milkereit, N Eyles, J I Boyce, W A Morris (2002) A geophysical study of the Wanapitei impact crater, Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union 83(47, Suppl.), p. 1, American Geophysical Union, Washington, DC, url

H A Ugalde, N A Artemieva, B Milkereit, B O Dressler (2003) Numerical modelling and petrophysical constraints on the magnetic signature of impact structures, LPI Contribution 1167, p. 0-Abstract 4017, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX

E L'Heureux, H Ugalde, B Milkereit, N Eyles, J I Boyce, W Morris, B O Dressler (2003) Magnetic, gravity and seismic constraints on the nature of the Wanapitei Lake impact crater, LPI Contribution 1167, p. 0-Abstract 4016, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX

R Tagle, P Claeys (2004) Where did the late Eocene impactors come from? The asteroid belt or the Oort cloud?, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 36(5), p. 265-266, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO

E L'Heureux, H A Ugalde, B Milkereit, J I Boyce, W Morris, N Eyles, N A Artemieva (2005) Using vertical dikes as a new approach to constraining the size of buried craters; an example from Lake Wanapitei, Canada, Special Paper - Geological Society of America 384, Thomas Kenkmann, Friedrich P Hoerz, Alex Deutsch (ed.), p. 43-50, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO

R Tagle, P Claeys, R A F Grieve, R T Schmitt, J Erzinger (2006) Evidence for a second L chondrite impact in the late Eocene; preliminary results from the Wanapitei Crater, Canada, Abstracts of Papers Submitted to the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 37, p. 0-unpaginated, Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, Houston, TX, pdf

H A Ugalde (2006) Geophysical signature of small to midsize terrestrial impact structures, Geophysical signature of small to midsize terrestrial impact structures, p. 171, url

B Milkereit, E L'Heureux, H Ugalde (2006) Geophysical signature of meteorite impact craters; first and second order footprints, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 38(7), p. 119, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url

H A Ugalde, E L'Heureux, R Lachapelle, B Milkereit (2006) Measuring gravity on ice; an example from Wanapitei Lake, Ontario, Canada, Geophysics 71(3), p. J23-J29, Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Tulsa, OK, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1190/1.2189387

M Lazorek, N Eyles, C Eyles, M Doughty, E L'Heureux, B Milkereit (2006) Late Quaternary seismostratigraphy of Lake Wanapitei, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada; arguments for a possible meteorite impact origin, Sedimentary Geology 192(3-4), p. 231-242, Elsevier, Amsterdam, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2006.04.010

S Goderis, F Vanhaecke, P Claeys (2007) Characterization of the Chesapeake Bay impactor by determination of the platinum group element PGE ratios in the impactite samples of the 2005-2006 ICDP-USGS deep drilling project cores, Abstracts with Programs - Geological Society of America 39(6), p. 452, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO

S Goderis, J Hertogen, F Vanhaecke, P Claeys (2010) Siderophile elements from the Eyreville drill cores of the Chesapeake Bay impact structure do not constrain the nature of the projectile, Special Paper - Geological Society of America 465, Roger L Gibson, Wolf Uwe Reimold (ed.), p. 395-409, Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, url, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1130/2010.2465(20