List of impact craters in Africa
Confirmed impact craters
Table:
Name	Location	Diameter ( km )	Age ( years )

Agoudal	Morocco	3 ?	105 ka ?

Amguid	Algeria	0.45	< 100,000

Aorounga	Chad	12.6	< 345 million

Aouelloul	Mauritania	0.39	3.0 ± 0.3 million

BP Structure	Libya	2	< 120 million

Bosumtwi	Ghana	10.5	1.07 million

Gweni-Fada	Chad	14	< 345 million

Kalkkop	South Africa	0.64	0.25 million

Kamil	Egypt	0.045	< 2000

Kgagodi	Botswana	3.5	< 180 million

Luizi	DRC	17	< 575 million

Morokweng	South Africa	70	145.0 ± 0.8 million

Oasis	Libya	18	< 120 million

Ouarkziz	Algeria	3.5	< 70 million

Roter Kamm	Namibia	2.5	3.7 ± 0.3 million

Talemzane	Algeria	1.75	< 3 million

Tenoumer	Mauritania	1.9	21,400 ± 9,700

Tin Bider	Algeria	6	< 70 million

Tswaing ( previously Pretoria Saltpan )	South Africa	1.13	0.220 ± 0.052 million

Vredefort	South Africa	300	2023 ± 4 million

Using the table together with the passages below.

Solve the question: Approximately how many kilometres north of Oranjemund is the impact crater in the country whose capital and largest city is Windhoek ? Return your answer as JSON: {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Do not introduce information beyond the provided sources.

Amguid is a meteorite crater in Algeria . It is approximately 500 to 530 metres ( 1,640 to 1,740 ft ) in diameter , approximately 65 m deep and the age is estimated to be less than 100,000 years and is probably Pleistocene . The crater is exposed at the surface . Crater was discovered by Europeans in 1948 , first scientific description was made by Jean-Phillippe Lefranc in 1969 .
Algeria ( /ælˈdʒɪəriə/ ( listen ) al-JEER-ee-ə ) is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa . The capital and most populous city is Algiers , located in the far north of the country on the Mediterranean coast . With an area of 2,381,741 square kilometres ( 919,595 sq mi ) , Algeria is the tenth-largest country in the world , and the largest in the African Union and Arab World . With an estimated population of over 42 million , it is among the ten most populous states in Africa . Algeria is bordered to the northeast by Tunisia , to the east by Libya , to the west by Morocco , to the southwest by the Western Saharan territory , Mauritania , and Mali , to the southeast by Niger , and to the north by the Mediterranean Sea . It is a semi-presidential republic consisting of 48 provinces and 1,541 communes ( counties ) . Pre-1962 Algeria has known many empires and dynasties , including ancient Numidians , Phoenicians , Carthaginians , Romans , Vandals , Byzantines , Umayyads , Abbasids , Idrisid , Aghlabid , Rustamid , Fatimids , Zirid , Hammadids , Almoravids , Almohads , Zayyanids , Spaniards , Ottomans and , finally , the French colonial empire . Algeria is a regional and middle power . It has the highest human development index of all non-island African countries and one of the largest economies on the continent , based largely on energy exports . Algeria has the 16th largest oil reserves in the world and the second largest in Africa , while it has the ninth largest reserves of natural gas . Sonatrach , the national oil company , is the largest company in Africa , supplying large amounts of natural gas to Europe . Algeria has one of the largest militaries in Africa and the largest defence budget .
Aorounga is an eroded meteorite impact crater in Chad , Africa . The exposed remnant of the crater is 12.6 km ( 7.8 mi ) in diameter and its age is estimated to be less than 345 million years ( Carboniferous or younger ) .
Chad ( /tʃæd/ ( listen ) ; Arabic : تشاد Tshād , Arabic pronunciation : [ tʃaːd ] ; French : Tchad , pronounced [ tʃa ( d ) ] ) , officially known as the Republic of Chad ( Arabic : جمهورية تشاد Jumhūriyyat Tshād ; French : République du Tchad ) , is a landlocked country in north-central Africa . It is bordered by Libya to the north , Sudan to the east , the Central African Republic to the south , Cameroon to the south-west , Nigeria to the southwest ( at Lake Chad ) , and Niger to the west . Chad has several regions : a desert zone in the north , an arid Sahelian belt in the centre and a more fertile Sudanian Savanna zone in the south . Lake Chad , after which the country is named , is the largest wetland in Chad and the second-largest in Africa . The capital N'Djamena is the largest city . Chad 's official languages are Arabic and French . Chad is home to over 200 different ethnic and linguistic groups . The most popular religion of Chad is Islam ( at 55% ) , followed by Christianity ( at 40% ) . Beginning in the 7th millennium BC , human populations moved into the Chadian basin in great numbers . By the end of the 1st millennium AD , a series of states and empires had risen and fallen in Chad 's Sahelian strip , each focused on controlling the trans-Saharan trade routes that passed through the region . France conquered the territory by 1920 and incorporated it as part of French Equatorial Africa . In 1960 , Chad obtained independence under the leadership of François Tombalbaye .
Aouelloul is an impact crater in Mauritania . It is located in the Akchar Desert , part of the Sahara Desert , approximately 50 km southeast of Atar . The crater is exposed , 390 metres ( 1,280 ft ) wide and roughly circular . The rim rises up to 53 metres ( 174 ft ) above the bottom of the crater . Sediments in the crater are approximately 23 metres ( 75 ft ) thick . Its age is estimated to be 3.1 ± 0.3 million years ( Pliocene ) . Tektite is found around the crater , although very few meteorites have been found . Zerga meteorite was found in 1973 at the bottom of the crater , but scientists are unsure if it is the same meteorite ( or even a part of it ) that formed the crater .
Mauritania ( /ˌmɒrɪˈteɪniə , ˌmɔːrɪ-/ ( listen ) ; Arabic : موريتانيا , Mūrītānyā , French : Mauritanie ; Berber : Agawej or Cengit : Pulaar : Moritani ; Wolof : Gànnaar ; Soninke : Murutaane ) , officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( Arabic : جمهورية الإسلامية الموريتانية ) , is a country in Northwest Africa . It is the eleventh largest sovereign state in Africa and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west , Western Sahara to the north and northwest , Algeria to the northeast , Mali to the east and southeast , and Senegal to the southwest . The country derives its name from the ancient Berber kingdom of Mauretania , which existed from the 3rd century BCE into the 7th century CE in the far north of modern-day Morocco and Algeria . Approximately 90% of Mauritania 's land is within the Sahara ; consequently , the population is concentrated in the south , where precipitation is slightly higher . The capital and largest city is Nouakchott , located on the Atlantic coast , which is home to around one-third of the country 's 4.4 million people . The government was overthrown on 6 August 2008 , in a military coup d'état led by General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz . On 16 April 2009 , Aziz resigned from the military to run for president in the 19 July elections , which he won .
The BP Structure , also known as Gebel Dalma , is an exposed impact crater in Libya . It is so called because it was identified by a BP ( then British Petroleum ) geological survey team . The crater is 2 km in diameter and its age is estimated to be less than 120 million years ( Lower Cretaceous or later ) .
Libya ( /ˈlɪbiə/ ( listen ) ; Arabic : ليبيا , romanized : Lībiyā ) , officially the State of Libya ( Arabic : دولة ليبيا , romanized : Dawlat Lībiyā ) , [ dubious - discuss ] is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa , bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north , Egypt to the east , Sudan to the southeast , Chad to the south , Niger to the southwest , Algeria to the west , and Tunisia to the northwest . The sovereign state is made of three historical regions : Tripolitania , Fezzan and Cyrenaica . With an area of almost 1.8 million square kilometres ( 700,000 sq mi ) , Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa , and is the 16th largest country in the world . Libya has the 10th-largest proven oil reserves of any country in the world . The largest city and capital , Tripoli , is located in western Libya and contains over one million of Libya 's six million people . The second-largest city is Benghazi , which is located in eastern Libya . The Latin name Libya is based on the name the region west of the Nile ( Λιβύη ) used by the Ancient Greeks and Romans for all of North Africa , and was first adopted during the Italian colonization since 1911 . Libya has been inhabited by Berbers since the late Bronze Age as descendants from Iberomaurusian and Capsian cultures . The Phoenicians established trading posts in western Libya , and ancient Greek colonists established city-states in eastern Libya . Libya was variously ruled by Carthaginians , Persians , Egyptians and Greeks before becoming a part of the Roman Empire . Libya was an early centre of Christianity . After the fall of the Western Roman Empire , the area of Libya was mostly occupied by the Vandals until the 7th century , when invasions brought Islam to the region .
Lake Bosumtwi is the only natural lake in Ghana . It is situated within an ancient impact crater that is about 10.5 kilometres ( 6.5 mi ) in diameter . It is about 30 km ( 19 mi ) south-east of Kumasi the capital of Ashanti and is a popular recreational area . There are about 30 villages near crater lake Lake Bosumtwi , with a combined population of about 70,000 Ashanti people . The most popular amongst the villages where tourists usually settle is Abono . The Ashanti consider Bosumtwi a sacred lake . According to traditional belief , the souls of the dead come here to bid farewell to the goddess Asase Ya . Because of this , it is considered permissible to fish in the lake only from wooden planks . Among the fish species in the lake is the endemic cichlid Hemichromis frempongi , and the near-endemic cichlids Tilapia busumana and T. discolor .
Ghana ( /ˈɡɑːnə/ ( listen ) ) , officially the Republic of Ghana , is a country located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean , in the subregion of West Africa . Spanning a land mass of 238,535 km2 ( 92,099 sq mi ) , Ghana is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west , Burkina Faso in the north , Togo in the east , and the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean in the south . Ghana means Warrior King in the Soninke language . The first permanent state in the territory of present-day Ghana dates back to the 11th century . Numerous kingdoms and empires emerged over the centuries , of which the most powerful was the Kingdom of Ashanti . Beginning in the 15th century , numerous European powers contested the area for trading rights , with the British ultimately established control of the coast by the late 19th century . Following over a century of native resistance , Ghana 's current borders were established by the 1900s as the British Gold Coast . It became independent of the United Kingdom on 6 March 1957 . Ghana 's population of approximately 30 million spans a variety of ethnic , linguistic and religious groups . According to the 2010 census , 71.2% of the population was Christian , 17.6% was Muslim , and 5.2% practised traditional faiths . Its diverse geography and ecology ranges from coastal savannahs to tropical rain forests . Ghana is a unitary constitutional democracy led by a president who is both head of state and head of the government .
Gweni-Fada is a meteorite crater in Chad , Africa . The Gweni Fada structure was first noted on the map NE 34 X Fada of the IGN ( National Geographic Institute France ) and aerial photographs in the 1950s of IGN by Alain Beauvilain ( Paris X- Nanterre University ) . In April 1995 , at the initiative of CNAR ( National Center to Help Research of Chad ) a team of French geologists ( Pierre Vincent , University of Clermont-Ferrand , Alain and Najia Beauvilain , CNAR Chad ) visited the site and reported evidence of shock metamorphism within rock samples they had collected inside the structure . It is 14 km in diameter and the age is estimated to be less than 345 million years ( Carboniferous ) . It is older than that of Aorounga because its coverage of impactite has disappeared as a result of erosion .
Kalkkop is an impact crater which can be found on a private farm 50 kilometres south east of the town of Aberdeen , Eastern Cape , in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa . The name is derived from two Afrikaans words , namely kalk meaning limestone and kop meaning head . The meteorite impact occurred about 250,000 years ago ( Pleistocene ) on what is now the flat Karoo landscape . It left a crater 640 metres in diameter and a few hundred metres deep . Over time , draining water left a limestone deposit 88 metres deep . This lies over a breccia layer a further 210 metres deep . Only a weathered circular ridge is still visible at the surface . This is one of four confirmed impact sites in South Africa and six within the Southern African region
South Africa , officially the Republic of South Africa ( RSA ) , is the southernmost country in Africa . It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres ( 1,739 mi ) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans ; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia , Botswana , and Zimbabwe ; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini ( Swaziland ) ; and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho . South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa and the 24th-largest country in the world by land area and , with over 58 million people , is also the world 's 24th-most populous nation . It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere . About 80 percent of South Africans are of Bantu ancestry , divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages , nine of which have official status . The remaining population consists of Africa 's largest communities of European , Asian ( Indian ) , and multiracial ( Coloured ) ancestry . South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures , languages , and religions . Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the constitution 's recognition of 11 official languages , which is the fourth-highest number in the world . Two of these languages are of European origin : Afrikaans developed from Dutch and serves as the first language of most coloured and white South Africans ; English reflects the legacy of British colonialism , and is commonly used in public and commercial life , though it is fourth-ranked as a spoken first language . The country is one of the few in Africa never to have had a coup d'état , and regular elections have been held for almost a century . However , the vast majority of black South Africans were not enfranchised until 1994 . During the 20th century , the black majority sought to claim more rights from the dominant white minority , with this struggle playing a large role in the country 's recent history and politics .
The Kamil Crater is a 44.8 m ( 147 ft ) wide and 15.8 m ( 52 ft ) deep ( original depth , a part covered by sand at present ) meteorite impact crater in the East Uweinat Desert in southwestern New Valley Governorate , Egypt , Only 0.6 km ( 0.4 mi ) north of the border with the Sudan and 600 m ( 2,000 ft ) above sea level . It was located in 2008 using Google Earth satellite imagery by Vincenzo de Michele ( former curator of the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milan in Milan , Italy ) . The crater is approximately 50 m in diameter .
Egypt ( /ˈiːdʒɪpt/ ( listen ) EE-jipt ; Arabic : مِصر Miṣr , Egyptian Arabic : مَصر Maṣr , Coptic : Ⲭⲏⲙⲓ Khēmi ) , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt , is a country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia by a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula . Egypt is a Mediterranean country bordered by the Gaza Strip ( Palestine ) and Israel to the northeast , the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea to the east , Sudan to the south , and Libya to the west . Across the Gulf of Aqaba lies Jordan , across the Red Sea lies Saudi Arabia , and across the Mediterranean lie Greece , Turkey and Cyprus , although none share a land border with Egypt . Egypt has one of the longest histories of any country , tracing its heritage back to the 6th-4th millennia BCE . Considered a cradle of civilisation , Ancient Egypt saw some of the earliest developments of writing , agriculture , urbanisation , organised religion and central government . Iconic monuments such as the Giza Necropolis and its Great Sphinx , as well the ruins of Memphis , Thebes , Karnak , and the Valley of the Kings , reflect this legacy and remain a significant focus of scientific and popular interest . Egypt 's long and rich cultural heritage is an integral part of its national identity , which has endured , and often assimilated , various foreign influences , including Greek , Persian , Roman , Arab , Ottoman Turkish , and Nubian . Egypt was an early and important centre of Christianity , but was largely Islamised in the seventh century and remains a predominantly Muslim country , albeit with a significant Christian minority . From the 16th to the beginning of the 20th century , Egypt was ruled by foreign imperial powers : The Ottoman Empire and the British Empire . Modern Egypt dates back to 1922 , when it gained nominal independence from the British Empire as a monarchy . However , British military occupation of Egypt continued , and many Egyptians believed that the monarchy was an instrument of British colonialism . Following the 1952 revolution , Egypt expelled British soldiers and bureaucrats and ended British occupation , nationalized the British-held Suez Canal , exiled King Farouk and his family , and declared itself a republic .
Kgagodi is a meteorite crater in Botswana . It is 3.5 km in diameter and the age is estimated to be less than 180 million years and is probably from the Jurassic . The crater is exposed at the surface .
Botswana ( /bɒtˈswɑːnə/ ( listen ) , also UK : /bʊt- , bʊˈtʃw-/ ) , officially the Republic of Botswana ( Setswana : Lefatshe la Botswana ) , is a landlocked country in Southern Africa . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland , Botswana adopted its name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966 . Since then , it has been a representative republic , with a consistent record of uninterrupted democratic elections and the lowest perceived corruption ranking in Africa since at least 1998 . It is currently Africa 's oldest continuous democracy. , Botswana is topographically flat , with up to 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahari Desert . It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast , Namibia to the west and north , and Zimbabwe to the northeast . Its border with Zambia to the north near Kazungula is poorly defined but is , at most , a few hundred metres long . A mid-sized country of just over 2.3 million people , Botswana is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world . Around 10 percent of the population lives in the capital and largest city , Gaborone . Formerly one of the poorest countries in the world - with a GDP per capita of about US $ 70 per year in the late 1960s - Botswana has since transformed itself into one of the world 's fastest-growing economies . The economy is dominated by mining , cattle , and tourism . Botswana boasts a GDP ( purchasing power parity ) per capita of about $ 18,825 per year as of 2015 [ update ] , which is one of the highest in Africa . Its high gross national income ( by some estimates the fourth-largest in Africa ) gives the country a relatively high standard of living and one of the highest Human Development Index of continental Sub-Saharan Africa .
Luizi is a meteorite impact structure that lies on the Kundelungu Plateau of the Katanga province , in an underexplored region of southeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo . The crater , ~17 kilometer in diameter , is visible from satellite imagery , and has been confirmed in 2011 by Ferrière et al . as being caused by a large impact event . This complex meteorite impact crater is so far the only recognized one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and even in the whole Central Africa .
The Democratic Republic of the Congo ( pronunciation ( help·info ) French : République démocratique du Congo [ kɔ̃ɡo ] ) , also known as DR Congo , the DRC , DROC , Congo-Kinshasa , or simply the Congo , is a country located in Central Africa . It was formerly called Zaire ( 1971-1997 ) . It is , by area , the largest country in sub-Saharan Africa , the second-largest in all of Africa ( after Algeria ) , and the 11th-largest in the world . With a population of over 84 million , the Democratic Republic of the Congo is the most populous officially Francophone country , the fourth-most-populous country in Africa , and the 16th-most-populous country in the world . Eastern DR Congo has been the scene of ongoing military conflict in Kivu , since 2015 . Centred on the Congo Basin , the territory of the DRC was first inhabited by Central African foragers around 90,000 years ago and was reached by the Bantu expansion about 3,000 years ago . In the west , the Kingdom of Kongo ruled around the mouth of the Congo River from the 14th to 19th centuries . In the centre and east , the kingdoms of Luba and Lunda ruled from the 16th and 17th centuries to the 19th century . In the 1870s , just before the onset of the Scramble for Africa , European exploration of the Congo Basin was carried out , first led by Henry Morton Stanley under the sponsorship of Leopold II of Belgium . Leopold formally acquired rights to the Congo territory at the Berlin Conference in 1885 and made the land his private property , naming it the Congo Free State . During the Free State , his colonial military unit , the Force Publique , forced the local population to produce rubber . From 1885 to 1908 , millions of the Kongo people died as a consequence of disease and exploitation .
The Morokweng crater ( or Morokweng impact structure ) is an impact crater buried beneath the Kalahari Desert near the town of Morokweng in South Africa 's North West province , close to the border with Botswana .
Oasis is a meteorite crater in Libya . The crater is exposed at the surface , and has been significantly eroded . The prominent topographic ring is only the central uplift , while the original crater rim is estimated to have been 18 km in diameter . The age is estimated to be less than 120 million years ( Lower Cretaceous ) .
Ouarkziz ( Arabic : أوركزيز ) is a meteorite impact crater in Algeria . It is 3.5 kilometers in diameter and the age is estimated to be less than 70 million years ( Cretaceous or younger ) . The crater is exposed at the surface . The Ouarkziz Impact Crater is located in northwestern Algeria , close to the border with Morocco . The crater was formed by a meteor impact less than 70 million years ago , during the late Cretaceous Period of the Mesozoic Era . Originally called Tindouf , the 3.5-kilometer wide crater has been heavily eroded since its formation ; however , its circular morphology is highlighted by exposures of older sedimentary rock layers that form roughly northwest to southeast-trending ridgelines . From the vantage point of an astronaut on the International Space Station , the impact crater is clearly visible with a magnifying camera lens . A geologist interpreting this image to build a geological history of the region would conclude that the Ouarkziz crater is younger than the sedimentary rocks , as the rock layers had to be already present for the meteor to hit them . Likewise , a stream channel is visible cutting across the center of the structure , indicating that the channel formed after the impact had occurred . This Principal of Cross-Cutting Relationships , usually attributed to the 19th century geologist Charles Lyell , is a basic logic tool used by geologists to build relative sequence and history of events when investigating a region .
Roter Kamm ( German : Red Ridge ) is a meteorite crater , located in the Sperrgebiet , within the Namibian section of the Namib Desert , approximately 80 kilometres ( 50 mi ) north of Oranjemund and 12 kilometres ( 7.5 mi ) southwest of Aurus Mountain in the ǁKaras Region . The crater is 2.5 kilometres ( 1.6 mi ) in diameter and is 130 metres ( 430 ft ) deep . The age is estimated at 4.81 ± 0.5 Ma , placing it in the Pliocene . The crater is exposed at the surface , but its original floor is covered by sand deposits at least 100 metres ( 330 ft ) thick .
Namibia ( /nəˈmɪbiə/ ( listen ) , /næˈ-/ ) , officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in Southern Africa . Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean ; it shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north , Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east . Although it does not border Zimbabwe , less than 200 metres of the Zambezi River separates the two countries . Namibia gained independence from South Africa on 21 March 1990 , following the Namibian War of Independence . Its capital and largest city is Windhoek , and it is a member state of the United Nations ( UN ) , the Southern African Development Community ( SADC ) , the African Union ( AU ) , and the Commonwealth of Nations . Namibia , the driest country in Sub-Saharan Africa , was inhabited since early times by the San , Damara and Nama people . Around the 14th century , immigrating Bantu peoples arrived as part of the Bantu expansion . Since then , the Bantu groups , the largest being the Ovambo , have dominated the population of the country ; since the late 19th century , they have constituted a majority . In 1878 , the Cape of Good Hope , then a British colony , annexed the port of Walvis Bay and the offshore Penguin Islands ; these became an integral part of the new Union of South Africa at its creation in 1910 . In 1884 the German Empire established rule over most of the territory , forming a colony known as German South West Africa . It developed farming and infrastructure . Between 1904 and 1908 it perpetrated a genocide against the Herero and Nama people .
Madna or Talemzane ( Arabic : مادنة / تالمزان ) is an impact crater in Algeria , 40 km south-east of Hassi Delaa ( a small city ) . Explored for the first time in 1928 , studied in 1950 and 1988 by researchers from the universities of Oran ( Algeria ) and Nice ( France ) . It is 1.75 km in diameter and the age is estimated to be less than three million years and is probably Pliocene .
Tenoumer is considered to be an impact crater in Mauritania .
Tin Bider ( Arabic : تن بدر ) is an impact crater that sits in dry , rugged terrain in Algeria . The crater was formed in the last 70 million years , perhaps in the late Cretaceous or early Tertiary Period . Spanning 6 kilometres , the crater sits at the southern end of a range of hills . The elevated position and concentric rings of Tin Bider suggest that its structure is complex .
Tswaing is an impact crater in South Africa that is accompanied by a museum . It is situated 40 km to the north-west of Pretoria . This astrobleme is 1.13 km in diameter and 100 m deep and the age is estimated to be 220,000 ± 52,000 years ( Pleistocene ) . The impactor is believed to have been a chondrite or stony meteorite some 30 to 50 m in diameter that was vaporized during the impact event . Morokweng crater , another crater of chondrite origin , lies north-west of Vryburg .
The Vredefort crater is the largest verified impact crater on Earth . More than 300 kilometres ( 190 mi ) across when it was formed , what remains of it is in the present-day Free State province of South Africa . It is named after the town of Vredefort , which is near its centre . Although the crater itself has long since been worn away , the remaining geological structures at its centre are known as the Vredefort Dome or Vredefort impact structure . The crater is estimated to be 2.023 billion years old ( ± 4 million years ) , with impact being in the Paleoproterozoic Era . It is the second-oldest known crater on Earth . In 2005 , the Vredefort Dome was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites for its geologic interest .