Meteor Crater

The Bai Sha Meteor Crater, located 9 kilometers southeast of Yacha Town within the Bai Sha Farm, has a diameter of 3.7 kilometers and is the first meteor crater discovered in our country, formed by the explosion of a small asteroid that fell here about 700,000 years ago. The crater’s peripheral ring ridge is well-preserved, with only a gap on the southwest edge due to erosion by two streams.

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Standing inside the meteor crater and looking around, one sees lush greenery. On the gentle slopes, tea plants are densely packed, arranged in rows, and full of vitality. It is hard to imagine that 700,000 years ago, a meteor fell from the sky here, impacting the earth and causing rocks to shatter and melt, with magma splashing around in a spectacular event. Scientists have found meteorite fragments within the crater and discovered characteristic minerals that only exist in meteorites. The meteorite is a non-chondritic type, shaped like a round, flattened sphere, weighing 3.75 kilograms, with a hard texture, and is the only discovery of its kind in the country to date.

The Bai Sha Meteor Crater is the only relatively young meteor crater that can be identified in our country and is one of the few meteor craters in the world that are accompanied by meteorite fragments.

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