Shoemaker Impact Structure
July 23, 2004
Provided by: Earth Observatory, NASA GSFC
Summary authors & editors: Earth Observatory; Jim Foster
The above Landsat satellite image (false color) was acquired on May 5, 2000 above Western Australia and shows the Shoemaker impact structure, which lies in the arid, central part of Western Australia near the town of Wiluna. This crater was formerly known as Teague Impact Crater but was renamed the Shoemaker impact structure in honor of the late geologist Eugene M. Shoemaker. The bright yellow and green appearing splotches are salt-encrusted seasonal lakes, which populate the floor of the crater. Shoemaker crater is about 30 kilometers (18 miles) in diameter and was formed about 1.7 billion years ago -- it's currently the oldest known impact site in Australia. While the outer ring of the crater is composed of Precambrian sedimentary rocks, the dark, crescent-shaped inner ring is made up of uplifted granitic rocks.
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