List of impact craters in South America

This list includes all 11 confirmed impact craters in South America as listed in the Earth Impact Database. These features were caused by the collision of large meteorites or comets with the Earth. For eroded or buried craters, the stated diameter typically refers to an estimate of original rim diameter, and may not correspond to present surface features.

World map in equirectangular projection of the craters on the Earth Impact Database as of November 2017 (in the SVG file, hover over a crater to show its details)

Confirmed impact craters
Locations of confirmed and probable impact craters in South America, maximum ages:
Quaternary
Cenozoic
Mesozoic
Paleozoic
Name Location Diameter Age (years) Coordinates
Araguainha Brazil 40 km 244.40 ± 3.25 million 16°47′S 52°59′W
Campo del Cielo Argentina 0.05 km < 4000 27°38′S 61°42′W
Carancas Peru 0.0135 km 10 16°40′S 69°03′W
Colônia Brazil 3.6 km >5 million, <36 million 23°52′S 46°42′W
Monturaqui Chile 0.46 km < 1 million 23°56′S 68°16′W
Riachão Ring Brazil 4.5 km < 200 million 7°43′S 46°39′W
Rio Cuarto Argentina 4.5 km (largest of 10) < 100,000 32°53′S 64°14′W
Santa Marta Brazil 10 km 66 million - 100 million 10°10′S 45°15′W
Serra da Cangalha Brazil 12 km < 300 million 8°5′S 46°52′W
Vargeão Dome Brazil 12 km < 70 million 26°50′S 52°7′W
Vista Alegre Brazil 9.5 km < 65 million 25°57′S 52°41′W

Unconfirmed impact craters
Main article: List of possible impact structures on Earth

The following craters are officially considered "unconfirmed" because they are not listed in the Earth Impact Database. Due to stringent requirements regarding evidence and peer-reviewed publication, newly discovered craters or those with difficulty collecting evidence generally are known for some time before becoming listed. However, entries on the unconfirmed list could still have an impact origin disproven.

NameLocationDiameterAgeCoordinates
Cerro do Jarau crater[1]Brazil10 km (6.2 mi)?30°12′S 56°32′W
IturraldeBolivia8 km (5.0 mi)11–30 thousand12°35′S 67°40′W
Piratininga craterParaná Basin, Brazil12 km (7.5 mi)117 million22°28′12″S 49°09′00″W
Praia Grande[1]Santos Basin, Brazil20 km (12 mi)84 million25°39′S 45°37′W
Vichada StructureColombia50 km (31 mi)30 million4°30′N 69°15′W

See also

References
  1. "Update On The Current Knowledge Of The Brazilian Impact Craters" (PDF).
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