Offbeat News: This City Is The Most Unique On Earth, Located Inside A Huge Meteor Crater, You’ll Be Shocked To Know!
The city of Nordlingen is located in the Danube-Ridge district of Bavaria, Germany, which is different from other cities here. In fact, it is unlike any other city on Earth, located inside a meteor crater so large that you will be shocked to know, hence it can be called the most unique city on Earth. It is a medieval town, known for its well-preserved medieval walls, Gothic church and Rathaus town hall.
According to a Times of India report, the city of Nordlingen has a population of over 20 thousand, located inside a giant meteor crater 25 kilometers wide. The crater, called the Nordlingen Ridge, was formed about 14.5 million years ago when a nearly mile-long meteorite hit Earth. For years, it was believed that the city lies in the center of a volcanic crater, but this was not the case.
The crater was created from a meteorite
In 1960, two American scientists, Eugene Shoemaker and Edward Chao, studied the site and proved that the crater was actually caused by a meteorite. While visiting a church in the town of Nordlingen, Shoemaker scratched the walls to see what they were made of. Then he was overjoyed to find the shocking quartz.
What is Shocked Quartz?
Shocked quartz is a type of rock that can only form from the shock pressure associated with a meteorite impact. Subsequent discoveries of the strange rock formations of the Nordlinger Ridge led to the conclusion that the crater was caused by a meteorite impact. Shocked quartz has a different microstructure than normal quartz.
Here is another impact pit
There is another impact crater, called Steinheim Crater, about 3.8 km in diameter, located about 42 km southwest of the center of the Nordlinger Ridge. It is believed that the two craters were formed almost simultaneously due to the impact of a binary asteroid. Let us tell you that an impact crater is formed when a solid celestial object (such as an asteroid or a meteorite) hits the surface of the earth at high speed.
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