Address & Contact
Strangways Crater
Elsey NT 0852
Phone: N/A
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Situated 65klm east-south-east of
Mataranka, comprising the area enclosed by a circle of radius 10klm centred at AMG point: 5667-`Mais`- 479191.
Strangways Crater is an unusual geological formation and one of the largest of its type known in Australia. The structure of
the crater has been partly obscured over time by erosion and deposition, to the extent that its origin is disputed. There is evidence that
the crater was formed by meteorite impact but this is not conclusive and it has also been suggested that it may have formed as a result of a subterranean explosion. Dispute over its origin, however, does not reduce the value of the site as a rare geological formation.
The crater is not visible from the ground or from aerial photographs, as most of the formation is concealed beneath Cretaceous and Cenozoic sediments deposited over the last 136 million years. However, it appears as a prominent circular structure on geological maps of the area. The diameter of the structure is approximately 20klm, outlined by a ring of
sandstone and siltstone beds of the Roper group, formed in the upper Proterozoic around 600 million years ago. In the interior of the structure are large areas of melt breccia, with features that suggest melting by extreme shock, rather than by volcanic activity. There is also a small outcrop of basement
rock possibly representing the uplift of a central peak. Trace element studies indicate that
the crater may have been formed by the impact of an olivine-rich achondrite (a rare type of stony meteorite). The formation is cut by Precambrian fault lines, suggesting that it is at least 600 million years old.