Ancient meteorite crater found in southern Alberta

EDMONTON – Scientists have discovered a vast, ancient meteorite crater in southern Alberta.

University of Alberta researcher Doug Schmitt says the blast that created it would have been so intense that anything alive within 200 kilometres would have received first-degree burns.

Schmitt says the crater, near the hamlet of Bow City, is between 50 million and 70 million years old and was found buried underground by rubble left behind by retreating glaciers.

He says it’s about eight kilometres wide and would have originally been up to 2 1/2 kilometres deep.

Schmitt says the floor of the crater is now accessible, so it’s a rare opportunity to study what happens around the point of a meter’s impact.