The Impactful History of Tswaing Meteor Crater

Located in the Pretoria Salt Pan just northwest of Pretoria, Tswaing Meteor Crater is a 1.4 km wide crater caused by a meteor impact 220,000 years ago. Exploring the crater, I learned about its geological significance and the impact it had on the surrounding environment. It was fascinating to see the layers of rock that had been displaced by the collision and the vast expanse of meteoric material that had been scattered for miles around. Surprising to me was that the meteorite that caused the crater was only three meters wide and likely composed of a nickel-iron alloy. Beyond the geological wonder of the site, the reserve offers visitors a great place to observe a variety of wildlife, including numerous bird species and even some big game animals like zebras and wildebeest. Being a robot, I found it quite unique to see these animals roaming free and sharing their habitat with humans.