The circular feature is formed by the valleys of two streams, the Esopus and Woodland Creeks, each of which traces a part of the circle. The streams, made more visible by fields, roads, and buildings along their banks, can be seen in the accompanying true-color satellite photograph. The streams flow into New York City's Ashokan Reservoir. The other two images give us different ways of looking at the circular feature. The third image is a digital elevation model of the Pather Mountain area, in which the color indicates how high the ground is.
Most people think impact sites are big holes.
This picture also shows the contrast between the circular feature and the surrounding drainage patterns. The fact that the streams follow a circle is very unusual and led scientists to seek an explanation. Also, there is no evidence for domical uplift. And on the surface, the site doesn't look like an impact crater. At that time, there were no Catskill Mountains, just a shallow sea that was slowly filling up with sediment.