Vargeão Dome

Vargeão Dome is a meteorite crater in Santa Catarina State, Brazil, straddling the municipalities of Vargeão, Faxinal dos Guedes, and Passos Maia.

The crater is an almost perfectly circular depression with steep walls, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) in diameter and up to 225 metres (738 ft) deep, relative to its rim. It is of Early Cretaceous age, or about 123 ± 2 Ma.

The meteorite impacted on the basaltic rocks of the Serra Geral Formation (Jurassic/Cretaceous). The crater displays several concentric rings and radial faults, and an eroded central bulge. The latter consists of impact breccias and sandstones from the Botucatu/Pirambóia Formation (Cretaceous/Triassic), which have been displaced about 700 metres (2,300 ft) above their mean depth in the surrounding area. At least four post-impact lava flows have been identified between the rim and core. The impact origin of the structure is attested by the presence of shatter cones and shocked quartz grains.