The Sahara's largest crater discovered in Egypt

Two Egyptian researchers have discovered the remnants of the largest crater of the Sahara desert, which may have been formed by a meteorite impact tens of millions of years ago. The double-ringed crater of a 31 kilometre diameter is located in south-eastern Egypt, close to the Libyan border, and was found on satellite images.

The discovery was made by researchers at the Boston University in the US earlier this month. Dr Farouk El-Baz spotted the enormous crater while studying satellite images of the Western Desert of Egypt with his colleague, Dr Eman Ghoneim, at the university's Centre for Remote Sensing.

The double-ringed crater - which has an outer rim surrounding an inner ring - is approximately 31 kilometres in diameter. Prior to the latest finding, the Sahara's biggest known crater, in Chad, measured just over 12 kilometres. According to Dr El-Baz, the Centre's director, the crater's vast area suggests the location may have been hit by a meteorite that was more than one kilometre is diameter.


The Sahara's largest crater discovered in Egypt