Boxhole crater
Impact crater in Northern Territory of Australia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Boxhole is a young impact crater located approximately 180 km (265 km by road) north-east of Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, Australia.[1] It is 170 metres in diameter and its age is estimated to be 5,400 ± 1,500 years based on the cosmogenic 14C terrestrial age of the meteorite,[2] placing it in the Holocene. The crater is exposed to the surface.[3]
| Boxhole crater | |
|---|---|
Boxhole meteorite crater, July 2011 | |
| Impact crater/structure | |
| Confidence | Confirmed |
| Diameter | 170 m (560 ft) |
| Age | 5.4 ± 1.5 ka Holocene |
| Exposed | Yes |
| Drilled | No |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 22°36′45″S 135°11′43″E |
| Country | Australia |
| State | Northern Territory |
  Location of the crater in the Northern Territory | |
Description
In 1937 Joe Webb, a shearer at Boxhole sheep station, took geologist Cecil Madigan to examine the crater. Madigan discovered nickel-bearing metallic fragments and iron shale-balls similar to those found at Henbury to the south of Alice Springs.[4] It was the second impact crater to be described in Australia, after Henbury.[5] A later search found additional meteoritic metal including an iron mass of 181 pounds (82 kg) ,[6][7] now in the Natural History Museum, London.
