Chesapeake Bay impact crater

The Chesapeake Bay crater is about 35.5 million years old Impaktstrukur on the east coast of the USA, which was only discovered in the early 1990s. The center of the crater lies near the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, which separates the Chesapeake Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. With a diameter of about 85 km and a depth of 1.3 km, it is the largest known impact crater in the United States. The crater is now completely buried under younger sediments and not visible at the surface, what its discovery more difficult. Previously discovered in holes Impaktschmelzen were mostly interpreted as volcanic rock.

The Chesapeake - structure is one of only four impact structures on Earth, of which are known tektites. This according to their origin as Bediasite ( for a place in Texas) or Georgiaites designated (after Georgia ) tektites have been known for several decades in science. Only with the discovery of the Chesapeake crater the question of its origin could be clearly established.

The impact resulted in the vicinity of the Chesapeake Bay to an intense disruption and disturbance of bedrock. About the disturbance tracks penetrates seawater into groundwater and is one of the toughest problems for drinking and industrial water supply for the region today dar.