Scientists debate how much meteorites impacted Earth’s crust during its first two billion years (4.5–2.5 billion years ago). Some believe their role was minor, while others argue that giant impacts could have triggered processes like subduction and mantle plumes, leading to the formation of cratons—the ancient cores of continents. However, this remains uncertain because no impact structures older than 2.23 billion years have been found, leaving the evidence for early impacts indirect and speculative.
Now, Curtin University researchers have discovered the world’s oldest known meteorite impact crater, which could significantly redefine our understanding of the origins of life and how our planet was shaped.
Researchers have uncovered the world’s oldest known meteorite impact crater in an extraordinary breakthrough. Estimated to be 3.5 billion years old, the crater is located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
This newly discovered crater predates the previously oldest known impact site, about 2.2 billion years old, by a staggering 1.3 billion years.
“This is by far the oldest known crater ever found on Earth,” said Professor Tim Johnson of Curtin University’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, co-lead of the study. “It significantly challenges our assumptions about Earth’s early history.”
The team uncovered this ancient relic while examining rock formations in the North Pole Dome area, west of Marble Bar. Their key piece of evidence? Shatter cones—distinctive, fan-like rock patterns that form under the immense pressure of a meteorite impact.
Image by: Tim Johnson/Curtin University
These shatter cones point to an event of colossal magnitude. Traveling at a blistering 36,000 km/h, the meteorite would have created a crater over 100 kilometers wide, scattering debris across the globe.
*“We know from studying the Moon that large impacts were common in the early solar system,*” Professor Johnson explained. “But until now, such ancient impacts on Earth have largely been ignored due to the lack of evidence.”
Co-lead author Professor Chris Kirkland noted, “Uncovering this impact and finding more from the same time period could explain a lot about how life may have started, as impact craters created environments friendly to microbial life, such as hot water pools.”
There are more than 100,000 craters on the moon
Moreover, the energy released by such a massive impact likely had profound geological consequences. The meteorite’s force may have pushed portions of Earth’s crust beneath one another or driven magma from the deep mantle to the surface, ultimately shaping the planet’s early crust.
“This impact could even have contributed to the formation of cratons—the stable landmasses that became the building blocks of continents,” Professor Kirkland added.
The discovery of this ancient crater provides a crucial piece of the puzzle in Earth’s impact history and hints at the possibility of finding more relics from this primordial era. It reminds us that Earth’s early environment was shaped by dramatic, extraterrestrial forces, which likely made our planet hospitable for life.
Journal Reference
Kirkland, C. L., Johnson, T. E., Kaempf, J., Ribeiro, B. V., Zametzer, A., Smithies, R. H., & McDonald, B. (2025). A Paleoarchaean impact crater in the Pilbara Craton, Western Australia. Nature Communications, 16(1), 1-5. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57558-3