Sudbury Basin
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Sudbury_Crater.jpg
The Sudbury Basin is the second largest impact crater on earth, and a major geologic structure in Ontario, Canada.
Located on the Canadian Shield in the city of Greater Sudbury, Ontario.The former municipalities of Rayside-Balfour and Valley East lie within the Sudbury Basin, which is referred to locally as "The Valley". The urban core of the former city of Sudbury lies on the southern outskirts of the Basin.
Formation and structure
The Sudbury Basin, which is 60 km long, 30 km wide and 15 km deep, is the result of a 10 km bolide impact which occurred 1.85 billion years ago in the Paleoproterozoic era. Its present size is believed to be a smaller portion of a 250 km round crater that the bolide originally created. Subsequent geological processes have deformed the crater into the current smaller oval shape. Sudbury Basin would then be the second largest crater on earth, after the 300 km Vredefort crater in South Africa, and larger than the 170 km Chicxulub crater in Yucatán, Mexico which is linked to the extinction of the dinosaurs.
Modern uses
The large crater filled with magma containing nickel, copper, platinum, palladium, gold and other metals. As a result of these metal deposits, the Greater Sudbury area is one of the world's major mining communities. The region is the world's largest supplier of nickel ore, and one of the largest suppliers of copper. Most of these mineral deposits are found on the outer rim of the Basin.
Due to the high mineral content of its soil, the floor of the Basin is among the best agricultural land in Northern Ontario, with numerous vegetable, berry and dairy farms located in the Valley. However, due to its northern latitude, it is not as fertile as agricultural lands in the southern portion of the province. Accordingly the region primarily supplies products for consumption within Northern Ontario, and is not a major food exporter.
External links
- Earth Impact Database (http://www.unb.ca/passc/ImpactDatabase/)