An investigation of the Whitecourt meteorite impact crater (Alberta, Canada)
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Abstract
The <1,130 year old Whitecourt Meteorite Impact Crater, located several kilometres south of Whitecourt, Alberta (Canada), is a well-preserved bowl-shaped structure having a depth and diameter of ~6 m and 36 m. There are less than a dozen known terrestrial sites of similar size and age. Unlike most of these sites, the Whitecourt Crater contains nearly all the features associated with small impact craters including meteorites, an ejecta blanket, an observable transient crater boundary, a raised rim, and a number of associated shock indicators. The results of this study indicate that the crater formed from the impact of a type IIIAB iron meteorite travelling east-northeast at <10 km/s, striking the surface at an angle between 40° and 55° to horizontal. At present, it appears that the main mass survived atmospheric transit relatively intact to fragment and partially melt during impact, ejecting meteoritic shrapnel, most of which landed downrange.