Araguainha - Hypervelocity Impact Crater

Alternate Names
Local Language
Coordinates 16° 49' 14" S; 52° 58' 57" W
Notes
  1. On boundary between Goias and Mato Grosso states, bisected by the Araguaia River or in the NE part of the Parana basin, near town of Araguainha, Mato Gross, Brazil.
Country Brazil
Region Mato Grosso
Date Confirmed 1973
Notes
  1. Confirmed by shatter cones, PDFs in quartz, and impact breccias (Dietz and French, 1973).
Buried? No
Drilled? No
Target Type Mixed
Notes
  1. The Precambrian granite basement is overlain by a ~1.5 to 1.8 km thick sequence of Devonian sandstone, conglomerate, siltstone, Permo-Carboniferous sandstone and Permian clay/siltstone (Englehardt et al., 1992). The central uplift consists of Precambrian granite while the outer regions consist of Devonian through Permian sandstones (Theilen-Willige, 1982).
Sub-Type Conglomerate, Granitoid, Sandstone, Siltstone
Apparent Crater Diameter (km) 40 km
Age (Ma) 248 - 264
Notes :
  1. Range based on several attempts at isotopic age determination by various techniques: 254.7 ± 2.5 (combined U-Th-Pb and 40Ar/39Ar (Tohver et al., 2012)); 259 ± 5 ((Erickson et al., 2017)); 251.5 ± 2.9 (U-Pb, (Hauser et al., 2019)). Additional age constraints: 40Ar/39Ar dating of melt rock provides an age of 244.40 ± 3.25 Ma (Hammerschmidt and Engelhardt, 1995).

Method :
  1. 40Ar-39Ar
Impactor Type Unknown

Advanced Data Fields

Notes

Erosion
6
  1. Erosion has removed most crater-fill products and has exposed the crater floor (Theilen-Willige, 1982).
Final Rim Diameter
Unknown
Apparent Rim Diameter
40 km
  1. (Theilen-Willige, 1982) (Crosta, 1985) (Hammerschmidt and Engelhardt, 1995).
Rim Reliability Index
2
  1. A central uplifted granitic core is surrounded by a large ring basin and an uplifted outer rim. The dome interior has a depressed centre and successive depressed and uplifted zones, giving it a multi-ring aspect (Crosta, 1985). The 5 km-wide uplifted core is composed of crystalline basement rocks in the centre of the structure (Lana et al., 2007). While a central uplift diameter of 10-12 km was identified by (Lana et al., 2007), it was later suggested to be 7 km (Crosta and Reimold, 2017). In the southern half of the central uplift, there is a minimum structural uplift of 800 m thickening over the entire sequence and a maximum of 2 km in the northern half (Lana et al., 2007). 1740 m SU calculated from values in FIgure 3 (Lana et al., 2007).
Crater Morphology
Complex
Central Uplift Diameter
810-12 or 7km
Central Uplift Height
5 km
Uplift Reliability Index
3
Structural Uplift
1.74 km
Thickness of Seds
1.5 - 1.8
Target Age
Precambrian Palaeozoic
Marine
No
Impactor Type
Other Shock Metamorphism
"Shocked zircon Kink bands in muscovites and biotites,and shocked-induced melting of biotite. "
  1. \"FRIGN zircon was reported in impact melt rock by Hauser et al. (2019), thus recording the former presence of reidite (>20 GPa). Kink bands in muscovite and biotite are easily recognized in the granites of the dome (Crosta et al., 1981). \"
Shatter Cones
Yes
  1. The occurrence of shatter cones at Araguainha Dome was first reported by (Dietz and French, 1973). Shatter cones occur in sandstones from the Devonian Furnas Formation, in the western and northwestern portions of the central uplift (Theilen-Willige, 1981) (Crosta et al., 1981) (Crosta, 1999). They form aggregates, with individual cones reaching up to 10 cm in size (Crosta, 1999). Shatter cones occur also in sandstone clasts within polymict impact breccia (Engelhardt et al., 1991) (Engelhardt et al., 1992).
Planar Fractures
Yes
  1. Planar structures in quartz (Crosta et al., 1981).
Planar Deformation Features
Yes
  1. PDF in quartz and feldspar grains (Dietz and French, 1973) (Engelhardt et al., 1992). Peak pressure 20 to 25 GPa in K-feldspar grains (Engelhardt et al., 1992).
Diaplectic Glass
No
  1. Diaplectic quartz crystals present (Thielen-Willige, 1981).
Coesite
Yes
Stisovite
Yes
  1. High pressure phases of quartz as coesite and stishovite (Theilen-Willige, 1981).
Crater Fill
LB, MB, M
  1. Brecciation of the crust (Masero et al., 1997), impact breccias (melt?) (Hammerschmidt and Engelhardt, 1995), polymict breccia, monomict breccia, partially molten granite (MB), impact melt sheet (M), impact melt veins (M as dykes in the central uplift); pseudotachylitic breccias (von Engelhardt et al., 1992), (Silva et al., 2016), (Romano and Lana, 2000). Melt veins observed in the core of the dome (Silva et al., 2016), and microspherules found within the proximal and distal ejecta (Thery et al., 2003).
Proximal Ejecta
S, LB
Distal Ejecta
S, LB
Dykes
M
Volume of Melt
Depth of Melting

References

Spot a missing reference? Submit Reference

Robert S Dietz, B M French, M D Oliveira (1973) Araguainha Dome (Goias) and Serra da Cangalha (Mato Grosso): probable astroblemes, Anais do Congresso 27, p. 102-103, Sao Paulo, Brazil (BRA): Sociedade Brasileira de Geologia, Sao Paulo, url

Robert S Dietz, B M French (1973) Two probable astroblemes in Brazil, Nature 244, p. 561-562, url

Robert S Dietz, B M French, Alvaro P Crósta (1973) VIII Simposio Latino Americano de Percepción Remota, Pohl J. Research in Terres-trial Impact Structures 11, p. 31

Robert S Dietz, B M French (1973) Araguainha Dome and Serra da Cangalha, Brazil: Probable astroblemes, Meteoritical Society 8, p. 345-347, url

Alvaro P Crósta, K Wünnemann, G S Collins, W U Reimold, P Köster (1973) Numerical modelling of the Araguainha impact structure, Brazil, Revista Brasileira de Geociências 244(9), p. 7513-7520, doi:10.1038/244561a0.[2

Alain Dupas, Jocelyne Vuilleumier (1974) Crateres, meteorites et trous noirs, La Recherche 5(41), p. 69-73

B Theilen-Willige (1981) Fernerkundungsverfahren bei geomorphologischen und strukturellen Untersuchungen an Intrusivkoerpern und an der Ringstruktur von Araguainha in Goias/Brasilien, Clausthaler Geowissenschaftliche Dissertationen(8), p. 210, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Federal Republic of Germany (DEU): Geowissenschaftlichen Instituten der Technischen Universitaet Clausthal, Clausthal-Zellerfeld, url

B Theilen-Willige (1981) The Araguainha impact structure/central Brazil, Revista Brasileira de Geociencias 11, url

Alvaro P Crósta, J C Gaspar, M Angela, M Candia (1981) Feições de metamorfismo de impacto no domo de araguainha, Revista Brasileira de Geociēncias 11(3), p. 139-146, url

Alvaro P Crósta (1983) Geologic mapping of the Araguainha Dome using remote sensing techniques, M.S. Thesis Instituto de Pesquisas Espaciais, Sao Jose dos Campos (Brazil), url

Rolf Ostertag, D Stoeffler, Wolf von Engelhardt (1985) Comparative study of impact craters with layered targets, Meteoritics 20(4), p. 720-721, url

A Deutsch, Dieter Buhl, F Langenhorst (1990) Rb-Sr and Sm-Nd-Dating of impact melts: Dellen (Sweden) and Araguainha (Brazil), Impact Symposium, url

Dieter Buhl, A Deutsch, F Langenhorst (1990) On the significance of ages for impact melts New RB-Sr and Sm-Nd data for Dellen (Sweden) and Araguainha (Brazil), Meteoritics 25, url

I Martinez, U Scharer (1991) Determination of shock-wave peak pressure and Rb-Sr isotope systematics in a granite from the Araguainha impact crater (Brazil), Lunar and Planetary Science Conference XXII, p. 857-858

W V Engelhardt, J Pohl, J Walzebuck (1992) Araguainha impact structure, Mato Grosso, Brazil, Meteoritical Society 27(4), p. 442-457, doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1945-5100.1985.tb00865.x

L Bischoff, P Brockmeyer, U Jenchen, R M Swietlik (1992) Structural Aspects of the Araguainha Impact Structure (Brazil), 1992 Sudbury Conference

W V Engelhardt, S K Matthäi, J Walzebuck (1992) Araguainha impact crater, Brazil. I. The interior part of the uplift, Meteoritics 27(4), p. 442-457, Wiley, url, doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1992.tb00226.x

Gaston Fischer, Wilhelm Masero (1994) Rotational properties of the magnetotelluric impedance tensor: the example of the Araguainha impact crater, Brazil, Geophysical Journal International 119(2), p. 548-560, url

W Masero, Pierre-André Schnegg, S L Fontes (1994) A magnetotelluric investigation of the Araguainha impact structure in Mato Grosso‐Goiás, central Brazil, Geophysical Journal International 116(2), p. 366-376, url, doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.1994.tb01803.x

A Schärer, U Jourdan (1994) Master Diss., INPE/Brazil 90 p, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 29, p. 65-73, url

K Hammerschmidt, Wolf Von Engelhardt (1995) 40Ar/39Ar dating of the Araguainha impact structure, Mato Grosso, Brazil, Meteoritics 30(2), p. 227-233, url, doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.1995.tb01116.x

W Masero, Gaston Fischer, P A Schnegg (1997) Electrical conductivity and crustal deformation from magnetotelluric results in the region of the Araguainha impact, Brazil, Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors 101(3-4), p. 271-289, url

J Hippertt, C Lana (1998) Aerial crystallization of hematite in impact bombs from the Araguainha astrobleme, Mato Grosso, central Brazil, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33, p. 1303-1309

C Lana, J Hippertt, W U Reimold (1999) Aerodynamic sculpturing and segregation by mass in ejecta bombs from the Araguainha Astrobleme, central Brazil, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 34(4, Suppl.), p. A71, Fayetteville, AR, United States (USA): Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR, url

Alvaro P Crósta (1999) Araguainha Dome: The largest astrobleme in South America, Sítios Geológicos e Paleontológicos do Brasil, p. 1-10

C Lana, J Hippertt (1999) Dynamic sculpturing and segregation by mass in ejecta bombs from the Araguainha astrobaeroleme, central Brazil, 62nd Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting

J Hachiro (2000) Four impact cratering on the Parana sedimentary basin (South America), Abstracts: International Geological Congress 31, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (BRA): International Geological Congress, Rio de Janeiro, url

D W Colliston, C Lana, J Hippertt (2000) Magnetic Properties of Hematite Impact Bombs and Associated Iron Stones from Araguainha Astrobleme, Central Brazil, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 35(S5), p. A44, url

G Cernicchiaro, S J Stewart, R Romano, J D Fabris, I Souza Azevedo, R B Scorzelli, P H Warren (2002) Magnetic behavior of hematite from the Araguainha impact structure, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 37(S7), p. 29, Fayetteville, AR, United States (USA): Meteoritical Society, Fayetteville, AR, url

Pierre-André Schnegg, S L Fontes (2002) Feasibility study of the geoelectric structure of the Araguainha impact, Brazil, Earth, Planets and Space 54(5), p. 597-606, url

J M Théry, Alvaro P Crósta, E Veto Akos, E Bilal, K Gal-Solymos, E Dransart, T Kenkmann, M Schieber, G Poesges (2003) New Laboratory Results on Field Sections at the Impact Crater of Araguainha (MT, GO, Brazil). Area of Proximal and Distal Impact Ejecta, Including Microspherules Dated from the End of Permian, Large Meteorite Impacts: Third International Conference, B Dressler (ed.), p. 4096, Nordlingen, Germany (DEU): Large Meteorite Impacts, Nordlingen, Germany, url

R Romano, W U Reimold, C Lana (2005) The Araguainha impact structure, central Brazil: A perfect example to study collapse of large complex impact craters, Meteoritics and Planetary Sciences 30, p. 442-457, url

Cristiano Lana, Rafael Romano, Uwe Reimold, Joao Hippertt (2006) Collapse of large complex impact craters: Implications from the Araguainha impact structure, central Brazil, Geology 34(1), p. 9-12, doi:10.1130/G21952.1

Elder Yokoyama, C C Lana, Y R Marangoni, C R Souza-Filho, E Tohver, R I Trindade (2007) The Permo-Triassic Araguainha impact structure (central Brazil): impact products and collapse history in the central peak-ring, AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts 23, p. 866, url

C Lana, C R Souza Filho, Y R Marangoni, Elder Yokoyama, R I F Trindade, E Tohver, Wolf Uwe Reimold (2007) Insights into the morphology, geometry, and post-impact erosion of the Araguainha peak-ring structure, central Brazil, Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 119(9-10), p. 1135-1150, doi:10.1130/B26142.1

C Lana, C R Souza Filho, Y R Marangoni, Elder Yokoyama, R I F Trindade, E Tohver, W U Reimold (2008) Structural evolution of the 40 km wide Araguainha impact structure, central Brazil, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 43(4), p. 701-716, University of Arkansas, doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2008.tb00679.x

F Jourdan, P R Renne, W U Reimold (2009) An appraisal of the ages of terrestrial impact structures, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 286(1-2), p. 1-13, doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2009.07.009

R A Machado, C Lana, G Stevens, C R S Filho, Wolf Uwe Reimold, Iain McDonald (2009) Generation, mobilization and crystallization of impact-induced alkali-rich melts in granitic target rocks: Evidence from the Araguainha impact structure, central Brazil, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 73(23), p. 7183-7201, url, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2009.08.029

C Lana, Y Marangoni (2009) The Araguainha impact: a South American Permo-Triassic catastrophic event, Geology Today 25(1), p. 21-28, Association & The Geological Society of London, pdf

Elder Yokoyama (2009) Trama magnética do núcleo soerguido da estrutura de impacto de araguainha, Revista Brasileira de Geolisica 27(3), p. 27, url

C H Tong, C Lana, Y R Marangoni, V R Elis (2010) Geoelectric evidence for centripetal resurge of impact melt and breccias over central uplift of Araguainha impact structure, Geology 38(1), p. 91-94, url, doi:10.1130/G30459.1

Luigi Jovane, Elder Yokoyama, Takele Seda, Russell F Burmester, Ricardo I F Trindade, Bernard A Housen (2011) Rock magnetism of hematitic "bombs" from the Araguainha impact structure, Brazil, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 12(12), Blackwell Publishing Ltd, doi:10.1029/2011GC003758

Dailto Silva, Cristiano Lana, Gary Stevens, Carlos R Souza Filho (2011) Effects of shock-induced incongruent melting within Earth's crust: The case of biotite melting, Terra Nova 23(4), p. 225-231, doi:10.1111/j.1365-3121.2011.01003.x

D Acevedo, A C Ocampo, J Rabassa, J F Ponce, S G Stinco (2011) Meteorite Impact Craters in South America: A Brief Review, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 12(3), p. 137-160, url, doi:10.1111/j.1945-5100.2011.01221.x

J J Thomé Filho, Alvaro P Crósta, T L F de Paula (2012) Geopargue astroblema de Araguainha - Ponte branca (GO/MT), Geoparques do Brasil: Propostas, C Schobbenhaus, C R Silva (ed.), p. 151-182, Rio de Janeiro: CPRM/Serviço Geológico do Brasil

W F Marchesin, Alvaro P Crósta (2012) Geological mapping of the crystalline basement of the Araguainha dome, XX Congresso Interno de Iniciacao Cientifica da Unicamp

E Tohver, C Lana, P A Cawood, I R Fletcher, F Jourdan, S Sherlock, B Rasmussen, R I F Trindade, Elder Yokoyama, C R Souza Filho, Y Marangoni (2012) Geochronological constraints on the age of a Permo-Triassic impact event: U-Pb and 40Ar/ 39Ar results for the 40km Araguainha structure of central Brazil, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 86, p. 214-227, url, doi:10.1016/j.gca.2012.03.005

Elder Yokoyama, R I F Trindade, C Lana, C R S Filho, David Baratoux, Y R Marangoni, E Tohver (2012) Magnetic fabric of Araguainha complex impact structure (Central Brazil): Implications for deformation mechanisms and central uplift formation, Earth and Planetary Science Letters 331-332, p. 347-359, url, doi:10.1016/j.epsl.2012.01.005

Barbara Theilen-Willige (2012) Remote Sensing and GIS integrated Investigations of the Araguainha Impact Structure, Brazil, 50 Years of Partnership between the University of Ouro Preto, Minas Gerais, Brazil and the Technical University of Clausthal, Germany

E Tohver, P A Cawood, C Riccomini, C Lana, R I F Trindade (2013) Shaking a methane fizz: Seismicity from the Araguainha impact event and the Permian-Triassic global carbon isotope record, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 387, p. 66-75, doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.07.010

Elder Yokoyama, D Brandt, E Tohver, R I F Trindade (2014) Palaeomagnetism of the Permo-Triassic Araguainha impact structure (Central Brazil) and implications for Pangean reconstructions, Geophysical Journal International 198(1), p. 154-163, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/gji/ggu125

Brazil N Hauser, E Guimarães, M Velcic, D Do Carmo, T De Almeida, J Garnier, L C Vieira, G C F Valadares, M V Brandão, R R Adorno, M C De Araújo, M G Pereira, A Guerra, S Cunha, K S Silva, M G Rocha, A Von Glehn, T Araújo, J Carneiro, D E M De Oliveira, R T P Citon, R Dantas, L V R Ferreira, Elder Yokoyama, W U Reimold (2015) A new, improved map of the Araguainha dome impact structure, central Brazil, 78th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society

Dailto Silva, C Lana, C R de Souza Filho (2016) Petrographic and geochemical characterization of the granitic rocks of the Araguainha impact crater, Brazil, Meteoritics and Planetary Science 51(3), p. 443-467, University of Arkansas, url, doi:10.1111/maps.12601

N Hauser, W U Reimold, K Voll, J G S Chaves, B Alves De Mattos, E L Dantas (2017) Are the impact melt rocks from the Araguainha impact structure, Brazil, homogenous? Evidence from geochemistry and Sr-Nd isotopes, 80th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society 86(2), p. 2-457

C Araujo (2017) Characterization of zircon grains from the polymeric breach deposit in the northern sector of the central uplift of the Araguainha Dome, Portal de Conferências da UnB

M R Miyazaki (2018) Modelagem gravimétrica 3D da estrutura de impacto de Araguainha, url

N Hauser, E J Hoffmann, P Gleißner, W U Reimold, H Becker, Alvaro P Crósta, C S M Souza, J Grayselle, L F Baumotte Osorio, B De Mattos (2019) Sr-Nd-Os isotope analysis of impactitites and country rocks from the Aranguainha dome impact structure, Brazil, Large Metorite Impacts VI

Natalia Hauser, Wolf Uwe Reimold, A J Cavosie, Alvaro P Crósta, Winfried H Schwarz, Mario Trieloff, Carolinna Da Silva Maia de Souza, Luciana A Pereira, Eduardo N Rodrigues, Matthews Brown (2019) Linking shock textures revealed by BSE, CL, and EBSD with U-Pb data (LA-ICP-MS and SIMS) from zircon from the Araguainha impact structure, Brazil, Meteoritics and Planetary Science 54(10), p. 2286-2311, University of Arkansas, doi:10.1111/maps.13371

H M Santana, E P Leite (2019) Superficial magnetic characterization of the Araguainha impact structure, Large Meteorite Impacts VI

C S M Souza, N Hauser, W U Reimold, A R P Maciel, Alvaro P Crósta, L P Marchi (2019) Preliminary results of a first detailed study of the polymict impact breccias in the Araguainha dome, Large Meteorite Impacts VI

Stelvio Staffieri, A Coletta, M L Battagliere, Maria Virelli (2019) Araguainha, Brazil, Encyclopedic Atlas of Terrestrial Impact Craters, p. 655-656, Springer International Publishing, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-05451-9_181

Carolinna da Silva Maia de Souza, Natalia Hauser, Wolf Uwe Reimold, Renato Borges Bernardes, Lucieth Cruz Vieira, Edi Mendes Guimarães, Manfred Gottwald (2024) Araguainha impact structure, Brazil: New insights into the geology of the central uplift, Meteoritics & Planetary Science 59(10), p. 2577-2607, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, url, doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/maps.14236