Woodleigh impact structure
impact crater in Western Australia
Woodleigh is a large meteorite impact structure (astrobleme) in Western Australia, centred on Woodleigh Station east of Shark Bay in the Gascoyne region. A team of four scientists at the Geological Survey of Western Australia and the Australian National University, led by Arthur J. Mory, announced the discovery in the 15 April 2000 issue of Earth and Planetary Science Letters.
Description
The structure is not exposed at the surface and therefore its size is uncertain. The original discovery team stated in 2000 that it may be up to 120 kilometres (75 mi) in diameter, but others argue it may be much smaller, with one 2003 study suggesting a diameter closer to 60 kilometres (37 mi). The larger estimate of 120 kilometres (75 mi), if correct, would make this impact structure tied for the fourth largest confirmed impact structure in the world, and imply a bolide (asteroid or comet) about 5 to 6 kilometres (3.1 to 3.7 mi) in diameter. A more recent study in 2010 suggests the structure could be between 60 and 160 kilometres (37 and 99 mi) or more, and was produced by a comet or asteroid 6 to 12 kilometres (3.7 to 7.5 mi) wide.
The central uplift, interpreted to be 20 kilometres (12 mi) in diameter, was first intersected by drilling activities in the late 1970s; however its significance as an impact structure was only realised in 1997 during a gravity survey. In 1999, a new core sample was taken. The thin veins of melted glass, breccia, and shocked quartz found would have formed under pressures 100,000 times greater than atmospheric pressure at sea level, or between 10 and 100 times greater than those generated by volcanic or earthquake activity. Only a large impact could have generated such conditions.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1604918. Authority coordinates are -26.050, 114.667. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2000, 2003, 2010 and 1997.
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This entry incorporates text from “Woodleigh impact structure” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.