Karla
Key facts
- Country
- Russia
- Diameter
- 10 km
- Age
- about 5 ± 1 million years
- Location
- 54.92° N, 48.03° E
A round hollow about 10 km across in the farmland of Tatarstan, western Russia, with a low raised rim.
Karla is an impact crater about 10 km across in the Republic of Tatarstan, western Russia, near the Volga. At about 5 million years old, it is one of the youngest craters of its size on Earth.
What it hit. The impactor struck a sequence of sedimentary rocks, mainly Permian limestones, sandstones and clays. The crater has a central uplift, now buried, and a raised rim. Since the impact, the crater has been partly filled with younger sediments.
Proof of impact. The structure was studied in the 1970s and 1980s by Soviet geologists, who drilled into it and found breccias and minerals with shock features, which confirmed an impact.
Age. The age, about 5 million years in the Pliocene, comes from the sediments that filled the crater, with an uncertainty of about 1 million years.
Why it matters. Because it is so young, Karla still shows its crater shape at the surface, unlike most craters of its size. The impactor is unknown.
Visiting. The crater lies in farmland. Ask landowners' permission before exploring.
Did you know?
Karla is one of the youngest craters of its size on Earth.
Its crater shape can still be seen at the surface.
It formed in Permian sedimentary rocks.