Glikson
Key facts
- Country
- Australia
- Diameter
- 19 km
- Age
- less than about 508 million years
- Location
- 23.98° S, 121.57° E
A round pattern of ridges about 19 km across in the Little Sandy Desert of Western Australia, clearer from space than on the ground.
Glikson is an eroded impact structure about 19 km across in the Little Sandy Desert of Western Australia. It is named after the Australian geologist Andrew Glikson, who has studied impacts throughout his career.
Discovery. The structure was noticed as a round feature on satellite images and in geophysical surveys. In the 1990s geologists visited the site and found shatter cones, cone-shaped fractures produced by shock, and quartz grains with planar deformation features, which confirmed an impact.
What it hit. The impactor struck Proterozoic sedimentary rocks, mainly sandstones and siltstones of the Officer Basin.
Age. The youngest rocks affected are Cambrian, so the impact happened less than about 508 million years ago.
Why it matters. Glikson is one of several large impact structures in the deserts of Western Australia found by combining satellite images with fieldwork. The impactor is unknown.
Visiting. The area is very remote desert. Travel requires careful preparation and permits for Aboriginal lands.
Did you know?
Glikson is named after the Australian impact geologist Andrew Glikson.
It was confirmed by shatter cones and shocked quartz in the 1990s.
It lies in the Little Sandy Desert.