What is the vredefort dome, a world heritage site in south africa?

A As meteorites go, few come larger and more devastating than the 10km-wide chunk of space rock that hurtled towards Earth around 2- billion years ago , hitting the ground near what is today the town of Parys in South Africa’s Free State province . As it entered the atmosphere travelling at tens of thousands of kilometres per hour , the massive molten meteorite – larger than Table Mountain – exploded into the ground and shattered . It threw up a shower of rock, magma and dust that rained down over thousands of hectares , and the shockwaves rippled the landscape into concentric ridges for hundreds of kilometres around – some of which would form the Witwatersrand . It left a crater some 300km wide , and t he dust that the impact threw up would have blanketed the planet for millennia, causing dramatic global cooling. In 2005 , the Vredefort Dome – the rounded peak thrown up at the very centre of the impact by rebounding molten rock, which is the most visible remnant of the meteorite strike – became South Africa ’ s seventh World Heritage Site. Describing its global significance, the UNESCO World Heritage Site listing reads, ‘ It is the site of the world’s greatest single known energy - release event. ’ But the sheer size of the Vredefort crater surrounding the dome, not to mention 2-billion years of erosion and deposition, makes it hard to imagine the aftermath of the o riginal impact. The most visible of the 4 major meteorite impact sites in South Africa lies 40km north of P...

Categories Location Overview The meteorite impact that happened in the Free State made a crater that was about 300 km wide (from Johannesburg to Welkom!). This is the biggest meteorite impact that geologists have yet found on Earth and it is nearly twice as big as the impact that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. This makes it a site of great importance for scientists. It is also the oldest impact crater that has been found on Earth. It is mainly for these reasons that it has been made a World Heritage Site. Over many decades, geologists from South Africa and other parts of the world have been studying the broken and melted rocks around Parys and Vredefort to understand this Vredefort Impact Even. This is what they have found: 1. The meteorite impact happened about 2023 million years ago, at a time when there were no people or even animals of plants like we see today. The only living thing was a type of algae, like the green slime seen in dams today. 2. To make a crater 300 km wide, the meteorite must have been about 10 km across (as big as a mountain) and travelling at more than 10 km per second (36 000 km/h!). 3. The Vredefort Dome is only the central part of the impact crater. It is called a dome because the rock layers were bent into the shape of an upside-down bowl 90km across by the impact.

• Share • Pin The Vredefort impact structure is one of the world’s largest impact structures. The crater, which has since eroded, was approximately 160-300 km across when it formed. The remaining structure, which is made up of deformed underlying bedrock, is found in South Africa’s Free State province. It takes its name from the town of Vredefort, which is located near its center. The Vredefort Dome is the structure’s central uplift. The impact structure formed 4 million years ago during the Paleoproterozoic Era. After Yarrabubba, it is the Earth’s second-oldest known impact structure. The Vredefort Dome was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2005 due to its geologic significance. 1. The development of Vredefort Dome Vredefort Dome (South Africa). Photo by Francesco Bandarin. The impactor that formed the meteorite impact structure could have been either a large body, such as an asteroid with a diameter of about 12 km traveling at a velocity of 20 km/sec, or a smaller body, such as the head of a comet, approaching at a much faster speed. The impact event produced the greatest single energy release known for the earth’s surface. The meteorite impact structure is thought to have formed in less than four hours. The meteorite penetrated approximately 10 kilometers into the Earth’s surface before exploding due to pressure. It sheared through the rocks of the Transvaal, Ventersdorp, Witwatersrand, and Dominion Supergroups to expose the Kaapvaal Continent’s granit...

© David Fleminger What is the Vredefort Dome?So, what is the Vredefort Dome and why is it important enough to be declared a World Heritage Site? Well, here’s the deal. About 2 billion years ago (that’s billion as in 1000 million) there was a catastrophic event just outside the present-day village of Vredefort, in the Orange Free State. An enormous meteorite measuring between 10 and 15 kilometers across smashed into the ground, causing unimaginable destruction and chaos. When all the dust had settled, a crater measuring between 200 and 300 kilometers in diameter was left behind, stretching from Welkom in the southwest to Pretoria in the northeast. At the centre of the crater was a prominent uplift – kinda like the splash-back you see when you drop a pebble into a pond. This uplift, originally measuring about 100km across, is the Vredefort Dome. Today, much of this dome has been eroded away or covered by newer rock layers, but there is a remainder of ‘Dome Mountain Land’ which can still be seen curling around the present-day town of Parys. Largest Impact StructureThe Vredefort Dome is the earliest and largest impact structure found on the Earth thus far. Furthermore, the impact literally turned the Earth inside out and pushed up ancient ‘basement’ rock layers that are not visible anywhere else on the planet. And there’s more. It is surmised that the impact effectively buried the gold deposits that were present in the contemporary surface rocks, and thus protected the Witwate...

© David Fleminger Two Billion Years AgoAround two billion years ago, a meteorite about the size of Table Mountain hit the earth near to where the town of Vredefort stands today, in the northern Free State. The resulting 1 000-Mt blast vaporised some 70 km³ of rock, leaving a crater about 380 km in diameter This. however, has now all but eroded away, leaving a dome of granitic rock that was created by the rebound of the earth's crust. This concentric ring of hills. between Vredefort and Parys, constitutes the World Heritage Site.

The World Heritage Sites [ ] Name; named after the World Heritage Committee's official designation Location; at city, regional, or provincial level and geocoordinates UNESCO data; the site's reference number; the year the site was inscribed on the World Heritage List; the criteria it was listed under. Criteria i through vi are cultural, while vii through x are natural (the column sorts by year added to the list) Period; time period of significance Description; brief information about the site, including reasons for qualifying as an endangered site, if applicable Name Image Location Period UNESCO data Description Ref(s) 915; 1999, 2005 (extended); iii, vi The area contains various fossil sites containing traces of human occupation and evolution dating back some 3.3million years. 11th to 14th centuries 1099; 2003; ii, iii, iv, v This open savanna lies at the confluence of the 19th century to present 1265; 2007; iv, v This mountainous desert is communally owned and managed. It sustains the semi-nomadic pastoral livelihood of the 17th to 20th centuries 916; 1999; iii, iv Between the 17th and 20thcenturies, the island was used as a prison, including for political prisoners, a hospital for socially unacceptable groups ( N/A 1007; 2004; ix, x The site consists of eight protected areas that are among the richest in plant life worldwide, containing nearly 20% of Africa's total flora. Its scientific value is demonstrated by the presence of fire and radiation adaptivity in plants and...

• About • Potchefstroom • • • • Accommodation • Wine & Dine • Tour Guides • WEDDING VENUES • CONVERENCE • • • Vredefort dome • • • • Accommodation • Wine & Dine • Adventure • Tree List • WEDDING VENUES • CONVERENCE • • • Parys • • • • Accommodation • Wine & Dine • WEDDING VENUES • CONVERENCE • • • Holistic • • • • Sketches • • • Gallery • Listing Welcometo the Vredefort Dome The Vredefort Dome (Crater) is currently the largest and one of the oldest known meteor impact sites in the world. It is South Africa's seventh World Heritage Site and this is largely due to the research scientist from Wits University, including Dr. Rodger Hart. Despite the importance of impact sites to the planet’s history, geological activity on the Earth’s surface has led to the disappearance of evidence from most of them, and Vredefort is the only example to provide a full geological profile of an astrobleme below the crater floor. Vredefort is a small farming town in the Free State province It is home to 3,000 residents. The area displays exceptional scenic beauty and is rich in biodiversity with remarkable animal and plant populations. Various cultural features also add to the value of the area. The Vredefort Dome has an exceptional tourism potential, the Vredefort Dome is situated approximately 100 km from Johannesburg. Not many impact craters are found on the surface of the earth (approximately 160), because much of the surface of our planet is covered by water and therefore exposed to the effe...