Veevers Meteorite Crater - WA

The Veevers Crater in Western Australia is named after an Australian Geologist. It was first discovered in 1975 and it is estimated to be around 1 million years old. The crater is one of only two impact craters where group IIAB meteorites have been discovered. The other is the Sikhote-Alin crater group in Russia. It is approximately 70 metres in diameter and approximately 1 kilogram of fragments have been recovered.

Veevers crater is an impact crater located on a flat desert plain between the Great Sandy and Gibson Deserts in the center of the state of Western Australia, Australia. The site is very remote and due to Native Title, it is now impossible to obtain permission to visit this site. (For more information see Great Sandy Desert Permits.

The crater was discovered in July 1975 during a government geological survey and named in honor of Australian John James Veevers who had worked in the area in the late 1980’s. At the time of discovery a meteorite impact origin was suspected, but could not be proven. The subsequent discovery of iron meteorite fragments around the crater by E.M. and C.S. Shoemaker in 1990 removed any doubt about its origin.

The crater has a symmetrical bowl-shape and is considered to be one of the best preserved small meteorite craters on Earth. The 20 m wide rim rises about 1.5 m above the plain, while the deepest point of the central depression is 7 m below the rim crest; the rim to rim diameter averages about 70 metres. The crater is less than 20 thousand years old and some have argued less than 4 thousand years old. It has been suggested that the original meteorite was in the size range of 100-1000 tonnes.

The area is accessed via 16 kilometre track that leaves the Gary Hwy some 240 kilometres north of Everard Junction on the Gunbarrel Highway and 83 km south of the Gary Junction Road at Gary Junction. The track is well defined but rough, corrugated and with areas of erosion. The camping is not the best at the crater site and more suitable camping sites can be found in the vicinity of Whau Whau Well at the intersection of the Veevers access track and the Gary Hwy.