page_title: Siljan Ring
hierarchical_section_title: Siljan Ring
caption_attribution_description: Siljan impact crater. Several lakes trace the remnants of the eroded impact crater that was formed by a meteorite impact about 370 million years ago. With a diameter of 55 km it is the largest impact structure in Europe. Lake Siljan is the large lake in the south of the ring.
context_page_description: The Siljan Ring is a prehistoric impact crater in Dalarna, central Sweden. It is one of the 15 largest known impact craters on Earth and the largest in Europe, with a diameter of about 52 kilometres. The impact that created the Siljan Ring occurred when a meteorite collided with the Earth's surface during the Devonian period, about 376.8 ± 1.7 Ma. This coincides around the first Devonian extinction, the Kellwasser Event or Late Frasnian extinction at 376.1 Ma ± 1.6 Ma. The effects of the impact can clearly be seen in the bedrock in the area. The Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian sedimentary rocks deformed by the impact are rich in fossils.
  The area around the Siljan Ring has been the site of recent prospecting for oil and natural gas, though none of the projects has so far been commercially viable. There are large deposits of lead and zinc near Boda at the eastern edge of the Ring.
  There are several lakes in the vicinity, the largest of which is Siljan on the south-southwestern edge of the crater, with the smaller Orsa Lake to the west and Skattungen and Ore on the northeastern margin.
context_section_description: The Siljan Ring (Swedish: Siljansringen) is a prehistoric impact crater in Dalarna, central Sweden. It is one of the 15 largest known impact craters on Earth and the largest in Europe, with a diameter of about 52 kilometres (32 mi). The impact that created the Siljan Ring occurred when a meteorite collided with the Earth's surface during the Devonian period, about 376.8 ± 1.7 Ma. This coincides around the first Devonian extinction, the Kellwasser Event or Late Frasnian extinction at 376.1 Ma ± 1.6 Ma. The effects of the impact can clearly be seen in the bedrock in the area. The Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian sedimentary rocks deformed by the impact are rich in fossils.
  The area around the Siljan Ring has been the site of recent prospecting for oil and natural gas, though none of the projects has so far been commercially viable. There are large deposits of lead and zinc near Boda at the eastern edge of the Ring.
  There are several lakes in the vicinity, the largest of which is Siljan on the south-southwestern edge of the crater, with the smaller Orsa Lake to the west and Skattungen and Ore on the northeastern margin.
caption: Satellite photo of the Siljan Ring. Lake Siljan takes up a large part of the southwestern edge of the now much-eroded crater.
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