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The Vredefort Dome, situated near the town of Vredefort about an hour’s drive from Johannesburg, is the world’s oldest and largest known meteorite crater. Although obviously somewhat eroded, the geological formations associated with the impact can still be seen, and the area has remained relatively unspoilt. There are small game farms, mountain bike tours, pretty little towns and a fun river trip on the Vaal River. But what’s really interesting is the impact of the impact.
Nothing is left of the original meteorite, but its impact caused the earth to buckle and bend forming a crater 350km wide. The force of the impact drove surface deposits of gold deep underground, thus protecting them from erosion and preserving them for later mining – the basis of much of South Africa’s wealth. Even more interesting, though, is that many scientists believe that the impact may have raised the oxygen levels of the earth, allowing complex life forms to develop. So it’s just possible that we owe our very existence to a cataclysmic event that took place billions of years ago.
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