Through the use of the Google Earth program, one can explore the planet and see volcanic
activity, geologic oddities, and see features so vast that they would otherwise go completely
unnoticed.
And, despite the fact that the planet's landmass has been essentially completely explored,
people are still able to find a wide range of interesting undiscovered natural features
including impact craters.
Due to the possibility of also potentially being able to find a previously undiscovered
impact crater, my frequent discussions of impact structures on YouTube, and the size
of my audience, I have received dozens of emails from people around the planet that
think they may have also discovered a new impact structure.
After investigating each and every one of these reports, I compiled a list of coordinates
and put them into categories based on how strong of a candidate they are for being an
impact structure.
For example, one set of coordinates I was sent directed me towards a feature within
Nevada that was only a few miles east of the border with California.
This features is highly circular, measures 6,000 feet wide, and forms a visible depression
in the ground which is 200 feet deep.
While this might initially seem like a good impact crater candidate, in reality the opposite
is the case.
Note how common the dark colored black volcanic rock is on the adjacent hillsides.
This represents basalt, a type of low silica volcanic rock.
Although the depression does not have much of this basalt within it, the light colored
rock within the depression appears to also be volcanic, representing finely grained ash.
Instead of being an impact crater, this feature is likely a several million year old volcanic
explosion crater known as a maar.
As a result, this feature was put into the low quality candidates pile.
After going through dozens of potential sites which my viewers thought were impact craters,
the vast majority were put in the low quality candidate pile while 7 were put in the high
quality candidate pile.
I subsequently sent the high quality candidate list to one of the world's top experts on
impact structures, Dr. Osinski.
Eventually getting back to me, he gave his thoughts on each of the candidates.
Of these 7, 2 peaked his interest and could thus be deemed as potential impact crater
candidates which require field work to follow up.
This video will cover the better candidate of the two, which was discovered by one of
my YouTube followers via google earth who wishes to be referred to as MrBlock from Missouri,
USA.
The impact crater candidate in question is located in far western China within Xinjiang
province in a highly rugged area at an elevation of 3,787 meters or 12,424 feet above sea level.
At the coordinates labeled on screen is a mysterious unusually flat circular area which
measures 4.8 miles or 7.7 kilometers wide.
The unusual feature has a raised central rim surrounded by a valley which seemingly encloses
the complex.
Weirdly, when erosional forces presumably over millions of years created a ravine, the
ravine cut around the rim of the impact crater candidate, suggesting that there is some dominant
structure there.
Assuming this unnamed candidate is indeed an impact crater, its size suggests that it
would be a complex crater with a central peak and crater rim.
Thus, the elevated plateau could partially represent crater breccia or sedimentary infill.
Dr. Osinski when I asked him about the structure said "This is an intriguing feature.
There do not seem to be other obvious structural features such as folds in this region.
The morphology is not that of a pristine complex impact crater but it could definitely be infilled
by later sediments.
Worth following up."
In essence, we now have a decent hypothesis with a supporting expert opinion that this
feature might indeed be an impact crater.
But, it not even close to being proven yet as field work must be done to look for clear
cut evidence of an impact structure through impact breccia, shatter cones, and shock metamorphic
rock among other potential evidence.
Only if sufficient evidence is found and a paper goes through peer review on this topic
can we officially accept this circular area as a newly discovered impact crater.
Thanks for watching!
If you would like to request a specific topic, please leave a comment below.
Additionally, I would like to thank my YouTube member jmonty31 for supporting this channel.