Roter Kamm () is a meteorite crater, located in the Sperrgebiet, within the Namibian section of the Namib Desert, approximately north of Oranjemund and southwest of Aurus Mountain in the ǁKaras Region. The crater is in diameter and is deep. The age is estimated at 4.81 ± 0.5 Ma, placing it in the Pliocene.Hecht et al., 2008, p. 1216 The crater is exposed at the surface, but its original floor is covered by sand deposits at least thick.

Description The meteorite hit a layer of Precambrian granitic gneiss that is part of the Namaqua Metamorphic Complex, overlaid with some younger sedimentary rocks. No parts of the meteorite have been found, suggesting that it completely evaporated upon impact. The meteor that hit it was approximately the size of an SUV.

The Roter Kamm impact structure exposes a large volume of cataclastic/mylonitic and pseudotachylitic breccias in the basement granite and gneisses, which is unusual for small craters.Reimold et al., 1994, p. 2703 Anomalous quartz found at the rim of the crater, and the primary fluid inclusions in the quartz, seem to provide evidence for post-impact hydrothermal activity, generated by impact heat, at the Roter Kamm impact crater.Koeberl et al., 1989, p. 2118 Eolian and alluvial processes each played a role in modifying the Roter Kamm impact crater since its formation. Much of the more recent history of crater modification relates to eolian processes. Active mobile sands largely bury the crater and effectively mask most of the signatures associated with prior activity by other processes. Ongoing eolian erosion is responsible for scouring of the exposed rim.Grant et al., 1997, p. 16,334

Gallery

See also

List of impact craters in Africa Geology of Namibia

References

Bibliography

Further reading Bishop, J., Koeberl, C. and Reimold, W.U., "Geochemistry of the Roter Kamm impact crater, SWA/Namibia, Roter Kamm" (abstract). Meteoritics, v. 24, p. 252. 1989 Blumberg, D. G., McHone, J.F., Kuzmin, R. and Greeley, R., "Radar imaging of impact craters by SIR-C/X-SAR" (abstract). Lunar and Planetary Science XXVI, pp. 139–140. 1995 Brandt, D., Reimold, W.U., Franzsen, A.J., Koeberl, C., Wendorff, L., "Geophysical profile of the Roter Kamm impact crater, Namibia". Meteoritics & Planetary Science 33, pp. 447–453. 1998 Brandt, D., Reimold, W.U., Wendof, L., Koeberl, C. and Grant, J., "Geophysical signatures of the Roter Kamm impact crater, Namibia" (abstract). Lunar and Planetary Science, v. XXVII, pp. 153–154. 1996 Degenhardt, Jr, J.J., Buchanan, P.C. and Reid, A.M., "Impactite and pseudotachylite from Roter Kamm crater, Namibia" (abstract). International Conference on Large Meteorite Impacts and Planetary Evolution, LPI Contribution No. 790, pp. 20–21. 1992 Degenhardt, Jr, J.J., Buchanan, P.C., Reid, A.M. and Miller, R. McG., "Breccia veins and dykes associated with the Roter Kamm Crater, Namibia". Geological Society of America Special Paper 293, pp. 197–208. 1994 Degenhardt, Jr, J.J., Reid, A.M., Buchanan, P.C. and Miller, R. McG., "Melt breccias from Roter Kamm impact crater, Namibia" (abstract). Lunar and Planetary Science XXVI, pp. 323–324. 1995 Degenhardt, Jr, J.J., Reid, A.M., Miller, R. McG. and Reimold, W.U., "Breccias resembling melt bombs from the Roter Kamm Crater". Meteorites & Planetary Science, v. 31, pp. 413–415. 1996 Dietz, R. S., "Roter Kamm, southwest Africa: Probable meteorite crater". Meteoritics, v. 2, pp. 311–314. 1965 Fudali, R. F., "Roter Kamm: Evidence for an impact origin". Meteoritics, v. 8, pp. 245–257. 1973 Grieve, R. A. F., "Recent studies at the Roter Kamm impact crater". Meteoritics, v. 28, pp. 160. 1993 Hartung, J. B., Kunk, M.R., Reimold, W.U., Miller, R. McG. and Grieve, R.A.F., "Roter Kamm crater age: 3.5 to 4.0 Ma" (abstract). Meteoritics, v. 26, pp. 342–343. 1991. Koeberl, C., "African meteorite impact craters: Characteristics and geological importance". Journal of African Sciences, v. 18, pp. 263–295. 1994 Koeberl, C., Klein, J., Matsuda, J., Nagao, K., Reimold, W.U. and Storzer, D., "Roter Kamm impact crater, Namibia: Age constraints from K-Ar, Rb-Sr, fission track, and 10Be-26 Al studies" (abstract). Meteoritics, v. 27, 244–245. 1992 Koeberl, C., Reimold, W.U., Bishop, J. and Miller, R.McG., "Roter Kamm impact crater, SWA/Namibia: New geochemical and isotopic studies and further evidence for post-impact hydrothermal activity" (abstract). Lunar and Planetary Science XXI, pp. 647–648. 1990 Koeberl, C., Reimold, W.U., Gotzinger, M. and Fredriksson, K., "Quartz at the Roter Kamm crater and post-impact hydrothermal activity: A reply to E. Roedder". Geochemica et Cosmochimica Acta, v. 54, pp. 3249–3251. 1990 Koeberl, C., "The age of the Roter Kamm impact crater, Namibia: Constraints from 40Ar-39Ar, K-Ar, Rb-Sr, fission track, and 10Be-26Al studies". Meteoritics, v. 28, pp. 204–212. 1993 Miller, R. McG., Reimold, W. U., "Deformation and shock deformation in rocks from the Roter Kamm crater, SWA/Namibia" (abstract). Meteoritics, v. 21, pp. 456–458. 1986 Miller, R.M., "Roter Kamm impact crater of Namibia; new data of rim structure, target rock geochemistery, ejecta, and meteorite trajectory". Special Paper-Geological Society of America, vol.465, pp. 489–508. 2010 Rajmon, D., Copeland, P., Reid, A. M. and Lavigne, J. -F., "Temperature of Formation of Pseudotachylytic Impact Breccias, Roter Kamm Crater, SW Namibia". 62nd Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting Rajmon, D., Copeland, P., Reid, A. M., "'Pseudotachylytes' that never melted: A Thermal Story from Roter Kamm Crater, Namibia". Lunar and Planetary Science XXXIII. 2002 Rajmon, D., Copeland, P., Reid, A.M., Lavigne, J-F., "Temperature of Formation of Pseudotachylytic Impact Breccias, Roter Kamm Crater, SW Namibia", Meteoritics; vol. 34, No. 4, Supp. p. A95. 1999 Rajmon, D., Hall, S. A., Reid, A. M., Miller, R. McG and Robertson, D. J., "Magnetic Investigations of Breccia Veins and Basement Rocks from Roter Kamm Crater and Surrounding Region, Namibia". Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV. 2004 Reimold, W. U., "Impact cratering - a review, with special reference to the economic importance of impacat structures and the southern African impact crater record". Earth, Moon, and Planets, v. 70, pp. 21–45. 1995 Reimold, W. U., Koeberl, C. and Brandt, D., "Suevite at the Roter Kamm impact crater, Namibia". Meteoritics & Planetary Science, v. 32, pp. 431–437. 1997 Reimold, W. U., Koeberl, C. and Miller, R. Mc.G., "Geochemistry of the melt rocks in the Roter Kamm impact structure, SWA/Namibia". Congress '90, 23rd Bienn. Congr., Geological Society of South Africa, Cape Town, pp. 718–723. 1990 Reimold, W. U., Koeberl, C., Brandt., "Suevite at the Roter Kamm Impact Crater, Namibia", Meteoritics; vol. 32, p. 431-7. 1997 Reimold, W. U., Miller, R. McG., "The Roter Kamm impact crater, SWA/Namibia". Proceedings Lunar and Planetary Science Conference 19th, pp. 711–732. 1989 Reimold, W. U., Miller, R. McG., Grieve, R.A.F. and Koeberl, C., "The Roter Kamm crater structure in SWA/Namibia" (abstract). Lunar and Planetary Science XIX, pp. 972–973. 1988 Reimold, W. U., Reid, A.M., Jakes, P., Zolensky, M. and Miller, R. McG., "A magnetic survey across the Roter Kamm impact crater, Namibia" (abstract). Lunar and Planetary Science XXIII, pp. 1143–1144. 1992 Storzer, D., Koeberl, C and Reimold, W U., "Age of the Roter Kamm impact crater, Namibia: A discussion based on fission track and isotopic measurements" (abstract). Meteoritics, v. 25, pp. 411–412. 1990