Meteor Crater - Geology

Geology

The impact created an inverted stratigraphy, so that the layers immediately exterior to the rim are stacked in the reverse order to which they normally occur; the impact overturned and inverted the layers to a distance of one to two kilometers outward from the crater's edge. Specifically, climbing the rim of the crater from outside, one finds:

  • Coconino Sandstone (sandstone formed 265 million years ago) nearest the top of the rim
  • Toroweap Formation (limestone formed 255 million years ago)
  • Kaibab Formation (dolomite formed 250 million years ago)
  • Moenkopi Formation (mudstone formed 200 million years ago) nearest the outer foot of the rim

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