The Vredefort Dome (Crater) is currently the largest and one of the oldest known meteor impact sites in the world. It is South Africa’s seventh World Heritage Site and this is largely due to the research scientist from Wits University, including Dr. Rodger Hart.
Despite the importance of impact sites to the planet’s history, geological activity on the Earth’s surface has led to the disappearance of evidence from most of them, and Vredefort is the only example to provide a full geological profile of an astrobleme below the crater floor.
Vredefort is a small farming town in the Free State province It is home to 3,000 residents. The area displays exceptional scenic beauty and is rich in biodiversity with remarkable animal and plant populations. Various cultural features also add to the value of the area. The Vredefort Dome has an exceptional tourism potential, the Vredefort Dome is situated approximately 100 km from Johannesburg.
Not many impact craters are found on the surface of the earth (approximately 160), because much of the surface of our planet is covered by water and therefore exposed to the effects of erosion. The earth’s impact record therefore consists mostly of recent craters, and a few old, but very large ones.