Zhamanshin (Kazakh: Жаман шың, romanized: Jaman şıñ) is a meteorite crater in Kazakhstan. It is 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) in diameter and the age is estimated to be 900,000 ± 100,000 years (Pleistocene). The crater is exposed at the surface.[1]
Zhamanshin crater | |
---|---|
Jaman şıñ | |
Impact crater/structure | |
Confidence | Confirmed |
Diameter | 14 km (8.7 mi) |
Age | 900,000 ± 100,000 years Mid Pleistocene |
Exposed | Yes |
Drilled | Yes |
Bolide type | Chondrite |
Location | |
Coordinates | 48°24′N 60°58′E / 48.400°N 60.967°E |
Country | Kazakhstan |
State | Aktobe Region |
Location of the crater in Kazakhstan |
It is believed that the Zhamanshin crater is the site of the most recent meteorite impact event of the magnitude that could have produced a disruption comparable to that of a nuclear winter, but it was not sufficiently large enough to have caused a mass extinction.[2]
Preliminary papers in the late 1970s suggested either Elgygytgyn,[3] or Zhamanshin,[4] as the source of the Australasian strewnfield.