Kandimalal EarthCache
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The co-ordinates will bring you to the information board at the car park for the Wolfe Creek Crater. To claim this cache you will need to answer some questions and e-mail us the answers.
Be prepared for a very rough road into the Park.
Discovery
Wolfe Creek Crater was discovered in 1947 during an aerial survey by geologists Frank Reeves and N.B. Sauve and pilot Dudley Hart. Intrigued by what they saw Reeves and Hart reached the site by foot two months later.
Aboriginal Legend
Although only 'discovered' in 1947, the structure had long been known to the local indigenous people, probably for thousands of years. The local Djaru people call the crater Kandimalal. In their dreamtime stories two rainbow snakes crossed the desert and in doing so formed the nearby Sturt Creek and Wolfe Creek. The crater is the place where one of the snakes emerged from the ground.
Impact
The crater was created by a meteorite weighing more than 50,000 tonnes. It fell with a speed of approximately 15 kilometeres per second. The powerful explosion when it hit the earth melted the rock and scattered blocks of red-browm quartzite and pieces of meteorite around the crater.
Size of the Crater
The average diametre of the the crater is 875 metres and the rim of the crater rises 25-35 metres above the surrounding countryside. The present depth of the crater is is up to 60 metres below the rims and up to 25 metres below the surroundings. The rims of the craters are up to 40 degrees steep. It is the second biggest crater in the world with meteorites found associated with it.
Composition
The meteorite consisted of iron and nickel - medium octahedrite.
Two previously unknown, very rare minerals have been discovered at the site - Reevesite (named after Frank Reeves) and Cassidyite (named after William Cassidy, who mapped the crater).
To claim this earthcache please e-mail the answers to the following questions:
1. According to Aboriginal legend, what was the name of the rainbow serpent that created the crater when it pushed up out of the ground?
2. What was the estimated depth of the crater before sand began to fill it up?
3. How far away from the crater have fragments of the meteorite been found?
4. According to the information provided what is the approximate age of the crater?
5. Describe in your own words, the vegetation in the centre of the crater as seen from the rim. What do you think has caused this phenonemon?'
Please enjoy your visit, perhaps you can post a photo of your time spent here.
Additional Hints
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Treasures
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