Updated : Vredefort Crater, South Africa : Largest impact crater on the Earth Vredefort crater is the largest known impact crater on Earth. Located in the Free State Province of South Africa, the town of Vredefort is situated in the crater. The site is also referred to as Vredefort dome or Vredefort impact site. In 2005, the Vredefort Dome was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites for its scenic and scientific interest. Dating back 2,023 million years, it is the oldest astrobleme found on earth so far. With a radius of 190km, it is also the largest and the most deeply eroded. Vredefort Dome bears witness to the world’s greatest known single energy release event, which caused devastating global change, including, according to some scientists, major evolutionary changes. It provides critical evidence of the earth’s geological history and is crucial to our understanding of the evolution of the planet. Despite their importance to the planet’s history, geological activity on the earth’s surface has led to the disappearance of evidence from most impact sites and Vredefort is the only example on earth to provide a full geological profile of an astrobleme below the crater floor.
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