With over 190 confirmed impact craters having hit Earth, there are a plethora of interesting discoveries! A good example of this being that scientists can roughly determine the age of an impact based upon the size of the crater. Impact craters less than ten thousand years old typically have a diameter of around 330 feet. Almost all craters between 10,000 and 1 million year in age are less than 2.4 miles in diameter. For craters ages between 1 and 10 million years ago, they have a diameter of 3 miles or more. Craters with diameter 12 miles or more are all older than 10 million years ago. Knowing this, looking at the 5 largest impact craters will probably be some of the oldest in Australia and the Pacific!

Acraman Crater

Located in the Gawler Ranges of South Australia, Acraman crater is a deeply eroded impact crater. The discovery of the crater and independent discovery of its ejecta were first reported in the journal Science in 1986. Because the crater is deeply eroded, its original size must be inferred by indirect means and range from 53-56 miles to 22 to 25 miles in diameter.

Yarrabubba

With an age of 2.229 billion years, it is the oldest known impact structure on Earth. The Yarrabubba impact structure is the eroded remnant of an impact crater, situated in the northern Yilgarn Craton near Yarrabubba Station. The crater is centered on a feature called the Barlangi Rock. 

Woodleigh

Discovered in 2000, Woodleigh is a large meteorite impact crater in Western Australia.

Tookoonooka

Not visible at the surface,Tookoonooka is a large meteorite impact crater is situated in South West Queensland, Australia. The diameter of the crater ranges from 34 to 41 miles. Tookoonooka was discovered using seismic data collected during petroleum exploration and first reported in a publication in 1989. The with proof of the impact theory came from the discovery of shocked quartz after performing a drill core.

Shoemaker

Formerly known as Teague Ring, Shoemaker is an impact structure, the deeply eroded remnant of a former impact crater named after planetary geologist Eugene Shoemaker. It can be found in central Western Australia, about 62 miles north-northeast of Wiluna. The area contains a number of seasonal salt lakes, the largest being Lake Teague.

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