Wolfe Creek Crater

The Wolfe Creek crater lies 145 km south of Halls Creek, State of Western Australia, in the Australian outback on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert. The eponymous brook leads only after rare heavy rainfall water.

During the almost circular crater with a diameter of about 880 m the Aborigines has been known for a long time, he was discovered by Europeans only in June 1947 from the air. Wolfe Creek is named after the Barringer Crater in Arizona is the largest crater of the meteorite fragments were found. The degree of retention of the partially buried by sand drifts crater is very good.

Of 15 km ² in 1969 and was founded comprehensive Wolfe Creek Crater National Park ( 1,460 ha ).

Geology

The impact of the meteorite occurred about 300,000 years ago in Pleistocene. The Impaktkörper had a mass of about 50,000 t and hit with a speed of 15 km / s. Fragments were still found at a distance of 4 km.

On the crater slopes smaller slate fragments are found from iron oxide ( shale - balls ). Some of them are loose on the ground, others are fused into the Lateritdecke. They contain iron-nickel and iron phosphide and are the rusted remains of iron meteorite. The iron meteorite is IIIAB type medium octahedrite.

The area into which the crater was formed, consisting of quartzite geology, covered with laterite. Due to the impact ( impact ) the quartzite layer was redeployed. This is clearly visible on the inside of the crater rim. The laterite, which once covered the quartzite rock, is visible in some places than between quartzite layers folded rock.

The crater, which may originally had a depth of 120 m, was filled up by drifts of sand and plaster over time. The current depth of the crater rim is measured about 50 m. The crater rim rises about 25 m from the environment.

Mythological significance

The local Aborigines who Djaru, call the crater Kandimalal. In the Dreamtime of the Aborigines two rainbow snakes crossing the desert which formed the nearby Sturt and Wolfe Creeks. One of the two snakes emerged from the site of the crater, and gave to it its shape. The rainbow serpent plays a central role in the thought of creation of the Aborigines.

Infrastructure

The crater is accessible via the unpaved Tanami Track, the central connection between Halls Creek and Alice Springs in the Red Heart of Australia. The track crosses twice the Wolfe Creek. After 118 km branches off to the east a rough side track about, defined by gate farm area to the National Park from (22 km). The cattle belong to the near Sturt Creek Farm.

Facilities at the National Park administration include an information booth, a car park and about 500 meters from the crater rim a shadeless campsite with toilets.

From the car park leads a 200m short climb in minutes to the crater rim. The circumnavigation of the crater at a distance of 6 km is possible, as a descent into the crater floor, from which the National Park Service, however, advises against because of loose rock.

The entire structure and the location of the crater is recognized only from the air; for this purpose are available from Halls Creek from tourists for sightseeing flights.

Flora and Fauna

In the middle of the shallow sandy crater ground accumulates on the rare heavy rainfall water which leaves the dissolved minerals salts in its rapid evaporation. Only a few plant species such as the salt (Acacia ampliceps ) and the potash salt herb ( Salsola kali ) survive these conditions. Outside the salty center thrive various eucalyptus ( Eucalyptus ) and Myrtenheiden species ( Melaleuca ), Mulla Mulla ( Ptilotus exaltatus ) from the family of Amaranthaceae and an endemic type of cotton (Gossypium australe ).

The red kangaroo is rare to see in the heat of the day. On the loose rocks of the crater is discovered with a little luck Ctenophorus caudicinctus, a lizard with thin striped tail.

Others

The crater is in a somewhat modified form namesake and also the venue for the Australian horror film Wolf Creek. However, this film was when he also shows some aerial shots of the genuine Wolfe Creek crater, shot in South Australia. As a body site where the crater is the scene in the crime novel The Will Of The Tribe by Arthur W. Upfield.