Luizi
Key facts
- Country
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Diameter
- 17 km
- Age
- less than about 575 million years
- Location
- 10.17° S, 28.00° E
A ring of hills about 17 km across with a central uplift, in the remote savanna of the Kundelungu plateau in Haut-Katanga, south-eastern DR Congo.
Luizi is an impact structure about 17 km across in the Haut-Katanga region of south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was the first impact structure confirmed in central Africa.
What can be seen. The structure has a raised rim, a ring-shaped trough and a central uplift, the classic shape of a complex crater. It stands out clearly on satellite images.
Discovery. A German geologist described a semicircular basin here as early as 1919, but its origin remained unknown. In 2011 a team of geologists visited the remote site and found shatter cones, cone-shaped fractures produced by shock, and quartz with planar deformation features, which confirmed an impact.
What it hit. The impactor struck sandstones of late Precambrian age.
Age. The age is poorly known. The impact happened after the rocks it struck were laid down, so it is younger than about 575 million years.
Why it matters. Luizi shows that large impact structures can still be found in poorly explored parts of the world. Central Africa may hide many more. The impactor is unknown.
Visiting. The site is very remote and difficult to reach.
Did you know?
Luizi was the first impact structure confirmed in central Africa, in 2011.
Its basin was first described in 1919, but its origin was unknown for nearly a century.
It shows the classic shape of a complex crater.