Looking for the origin of the crater

2002/09/09 Elhuyar Zientzia

• Geologia

A team of scientists from NASA works to find out the origin of the Iturralde crater of Bolivia, formed by an asteroid or comet. Scientists will analyze rocks, soil samples from the crater and the magnetic characteristics of the medium. Scientists will also strive to find glass fractions, since, if found, the crater is produced by an asteroid.

The Iturralde crater is located in Bolivia, in the Amazon jungle. It has eight kilometers of diameter and a meter of depth and was discovered by the satellite Landsat in the 70's. Until then there was no news of the crater, as seen in the image, since the hole is covered with vegetation.