https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=Luna_craterLuna crater - Revision history2026-07-31T13:05:35ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=Luna_crater&diff=230476&oldid=prev->John of Reading at 16:15, 13 November 20212021-11-13T16:15:23Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>'''Luna crater''' is an [[impact crater]] at Luna village in [[Bhuj]] taluka of [[Kutch district]] of [[Gujarat]], India. The crater is located in a low-lying, soft, flat area and appears unconventional and deceptive when compared to other craters in India, which are usually found on hard, rocky surfaces.<ref name="geo">{{cite journal|last1=Karanth|first1=R. V.|issue=November 2006|title=The Unusual Impact Crater of Luna in Kachchh, Western India|url=http://www.geosocindia.org/index.php/jgsi/article/viewFile/81609/62979|access-date=27 May 2017|journal=Journal of Geo Society of India|publisher=Geological society of India|volume=68}}</ref><br />
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== Description ==<br />
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Rock fragments and glasslike materials found at the site indicate a meteorite impact, the date of which has tentatively been put at around 2000 BCE.<ref name="mudur">{{cite news|last1=Mudur|first1=G S|title=Giant crater puzzle in Kutch |url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/1061024/asp/nation/story_6909357.asp|access-date=27 May 2017|issue=The telegraph|publisher=The Telegraph Kolkotta|date=24 October 2006}}</ref> The crater, located in the [[Rann of Kutch]], is circular, with a diameter of {{convert|1.2|km|mi|frac=4}}, and its lowest point is only about {{convert|2|m|ft}} above sea level.<ref>{{cite news|last1=PTI|title=Vedic age crater found in Rann of Kutch|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Vedic-age-crater-found-in-Rann-of-Kutch/articleshow/2232131.cms|access-date=27 May 2017|agency=The Times of India|work=The Times of India|date=23 October 2006}}</ref><br />
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Crater is visibly a kilometre wide, but the satellite radar imagery shows it is spread over a five kilometres radius. Since it lacks the characteristics of a typical impact site, it is a unique site in the world, it has a very low depth to diameter ratio. A round lake of 1&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> in area and 2 meter in depth lies in the centre of crater, which remains dry during summers. Crater depression is covered with thick vegetation of thorny Acacia species (Acacia nilotica and Prosopis juilfor). Rim of the crater, with up-turned beds and shutter cone, has no hard rocks. X-ray analysis of the materials adhering to meteorite fragments carried out by Dr George Mathew, Earth Science Department, the [[Indian Institute of Technology Bombay]] revealed [[stishovite]] and [[coesite]], the high pressure [[polymorphism (materials science)|polymorphs]] of [[silica]], which confirms the impact origin of the crater.<ref name="geo" /><br />
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Among the various objects/products expected in an impact site, fragments appearing like metallic meteorites that are dark, heavy and magnetic with spherical cavities are found at the rim of the suspected crater, and glassy objects comparable to tektites have been recovered.<ref name=lunac2>R V Karan, R. V. Karanth, P. S. Thakker And M. S. Gadhavi, A Preliminary Report on The Possible Impact Crater of Kachchh, Current Science, Vol. 91, No. 7, 10 Oct 2006.</ref><br />
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== Religious significance ==<br />
Luna Dham Temple lies in the north end of the crater.<br />
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== More potential craters in Kutch ==<br />
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The satellite data indicates that there could be a few more craters within the Kutch, which are hidden by the subsequent denudational activities.<ref name="geo" /><br />
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==See also ==<br />
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; Impact craters in India<br />
* [[Dhala crater]] in [[Shivpuri district]] of Madhya Pradesh<br />
* [[Lonar lake|Lonar crater]] at [[Lonar]] in [[Buldhana district]] of Maharashtra<br />
* [[Ramgarh crater|Ramgarh Crater]] in [[Mangrol, Rajasthan|Mangrol]] tehsil of [[Baran district]] of Rajasthan<br />
* [[Shiva crater]], an undersea super crater west of India<br />
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; Other related topics<br />
* [[List of impact craters on Earth]]<br />
* [[List of possible impact structures on Earth]]<br />
* [[List of lakes in India]]<br />
* [[List of national parks of India]]<br />
* [[Ramsar Convention]]<br />
* [[Soda lake]]<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
{{Waters of South Asia}}<br />
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{{Impact cratering on Earth}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Luna Crater}}<br />
[[Category:National Geological Monuments in India]]<br />
[[Category:Landforms of Gujarat]]<br />
[[Category:Impact craters of India]]</div>->John of Reading