Rock Elm Disturbance
Encyclopedia
The Rock Elm Disturbance is an impact crater
in Wisconsin
, United States, roughly 40 kilometers Southwest of Menomonie. The disturbance is named for Rock Elm, Wisconsin
, a nearby community.
The meteorite
is estimated to have been 170 meters in diameter with a mass of 9x109 kg and impact velocity of 30 km/second. The crater is 6 km in diameter, and fossils found in the rock filling the crater suggest it dates to the middle Ordovician
Period, about 455 to 430 million years ago.
Impact crater
In the broadest sense, the term impact crater can be applied to any depression, natural or manmade, resulting from the high velocity impact of a projectile with a larger body...
in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, United States, roughly 40 kilometers Southwest of Menomonie. The disturbance is named for Rock Elm, Wisconsin
Rock Elm, Wisconsin
Rock Elm is a town in Pierce County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 504 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated communities of Exile and Rock Elm are located in the town...
, a nearby community.
The meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
is estimated to have been 170 meters in diameter with a mass of 9x109 kg and impact velocity of 30 km/second. The crater is 6 km in diameter, and fossils found in the rock filling the crater suggest it dates to the middle Ordovician
Ordovician
The Ordovician is a geologic period and system, the second of six of the Paleozoic Era, and covers the time between 488.3±1.7 to 443.7±1.5 million years ago . It follows the Cambrian Period and is followed by the Silurian Period...
Period, about 455 to 430 million years ago.
External links
- Article from Geotimes.com, March 2004
- Press release from the University of Wisconsin-River FallsUniversity of Wisconsin-River FallsThe University of Wisconsin–River Falls is a liberal arts undergraduate and graduate university and a member of the University of Wisconsin System. UW–River Falls is located in River Falls, Wisconsin on the famed trout fishing Kinnickinnic River. The campus consists of 32 major buildings, ten of...
- Craters in Wisconsin