Largest Impact Craters Diameter Comparison
Compare the 10 largest impact craters, from Vredefort at 300 km diameter to Kara at 65. Rim diameters in km and miles with exact NASA and USGS sources.
Visual comparison
All values
Click any row to load it as Entry A.
| Name | Value | Context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vredefort Crater Rim 160 km. Erosion hides the edge. Range 180 to 300. | 300 kilometers | South Africa, 2.02 billion years old | Earth Impact Database via LPSC: Vredefort 300 km max |
| Sudbury Basin Rim 130 km. Second largest by max extent. | 250 kilometers | Canada, Ontario, 1.85 billion years old | Earth Impact Database via LPSC: Sudbury 250 km max |
| Chicxulub Crater Buried under 1 km of rock. Rim 150 km. | 180 kilometers | Mexico, Yucatan, dinosaur extinction | USGS Chicxulub report: 180 km diameter |
| Popigai Crater holds diamond deposits from shock. | 100 kilometers | Russia, Siberia, 35 million years old | Earth Impact Database: Popigai 100 km |
| Manicouagan Crater Rim 80 km. Reservoir fills the ring. | 100 kilometers | Canada, Quebec, eye of Quebec | Earth Impact Database: Manicouagan 90 to 100 km |
| Acraman Crater Buried. Found by drill cores. | 90 kilometers | Australia, South Australia | Earth Impact Database: Acraman 90 km |
| Chesapeake Bay Crater Revised rim 40 km. Buried under bay mud. | 90 kilometers | USA, Virginia, 35 million years old | Earth Impact Database: Chesapeake 90 km |
| Puchezh-Katunki Crater Revised rim 42 km. Mostly buried. | 80 kilometers | Russia, Volga region | Earth Impact Database: Puchezh-Katunki 80 km |
| Morokweng Crater Found by magnetic survey under sand. | 70 kilometers | South Africa, Kalahari | Earth Impact Database: Morokweng 70 km |
| Kara Crater Eroded. Rim and ring match at 65. | 65 kilometers | Russia, Nenets region | Earth Impact Database: Kara 65 km |
About this converter
Vredefort in South Africa spans 300 km, the largest confirmed remnant on Earth at 2.02 billion years old. Sudbury in Canada follows at 250. Chicxulub in Mexico at 180 is the dinosaur crater, buried under a km of sediment. Popigai in Siberia and Manicouagan in Quebec sit near 100. Acraman and Chesapeake Bay sit at 90, Puchezh-Katunki at 80, Morokweng at 70 and Kara at 65. Diameters use final rim or max damage per impact studies. Erosion and burial make exact edges hard to fix, so ranges stay wide for the oldest three.
How to use it
Pick two craters and a unit in the top row. The three boxes below stay linked. Change any box and the other two update. Try Vredefort against Chicxulub to see the 120 km gap. The bars below scale to Vredefort so Kara looks thin next to it. Switch the unit to miles for US figures. Ratios are exact divisions of the listed diameters.
Crater size has two numbers. Rim diameter marks the collapsed cavity edge. Max diameter marks outer rings and damage. LPSC 2010 gives Vredefort rim 160 and max 300, Sudbury rim 130 and max 260, Chicxulub rim 150 and max 240. We list max per Earth Impact Database and note rim in each row. Chesapeake and Puchezh-Katunki drop to 40 to 42 by rim but keep 80 to 90 by max. NASA notes Vredefort between 180 and 300 for the same reason.
FAQ
What is the largest crater on Earth?
Vredefort at 300 km max, 160 rim. It formed 2.02 billion years ago in South Africa.
How big is the dinosaur crater?
Chicxulub at 180 km. It hides under Yucatan rock and the Cenote Ring marks its center.
Why do diameters differ between papers?
Rim vs max damage. Erosion removes edges, so workers cite different rings. Each row notes the rim figure.
Is Sudbury bigger than Chicxulub?
By max extent yes at 250 vs 180. By rim they are closer at 130 vs 150. Order flips by method, which the table notes.
Sources
- Earth Impact Database via LPSC 2010 Table 1 and 2 (Vredefort 300 max 160 rim; Sudbury 250 max 130 rim; Chicxulub 170 max 150 rim; Popigai 100; Manicouagan 90 max 80 rim; Acraman 90; Chesapeake 90 max 40 rim; Puchezh 80 max 42 rim; Morokweng 70; Kara 65 km)
- USGS Open File Report 97-442A: Chicxulub 180 km diameter
- NASA Earth Observatory Vredefort Crater 2018 and 2025: 180 to 300 km wide, dome 90 km across
- AGU Journal of Geophysical Research 2022 Vredefort revision: 250 to 280 km original, 172 test case
Last verified: 2026-10-09 · 10 entries
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