impact basin

An impact basin is a landform created by the impact of a meteorite on Earth's surface, often appearing as a circular scar of crushed bedrock. These features can be modified by erosion over time, making their identification challenging. Key indicators include subsurface shock structures called shatter cones, which radiate from the impact point.1

Impact basins are one of several mechanisms that can form lake basins, with examples found in craters like Ungava Lake in Quebec. On other celestial bodies, such as planets and satellites within our solar system, similar features known as multiringed basins are observed. These are believed to be giant impact features, characterized by a bull's-eye appearance with concentric rings, and are thought to form during the impact event itself or through post-impact collapse.23