Steinheimer Becken

A meteorite impact about 14.8 million years ago formed the Steinheimer Becken at Heidenheim an der Brenz in Germany. A hill rises at the crater's centre, the kind of rebound structure common to meteorite craters. White Jurassic limestone, dolomitic rock and the marl and clay of the Mergelstetten Formation build the ground around it.

For many years its origin divided opinion, and some took it for a volcanic crater. Drilling and geophysical surveys settled the question: the basin came from a meteorite, not a volcano. Primary breccia, freshwater limestone and other sediments fill the hollow. Shatter cones and fossilised remains sit in the rock, marks of the high pressures of that collision.

Numerous hiking trails cross the basin and its surroundings, giving wide views over the landscape. The Meteorkrater Museum in Steinheim adds the background: the geological history of the area and the meteorite impact that shaped it. The central hill still stands, fourteen point eight million years after the blow that raised it.