A 2021 satellite photo shows off the recently uncovered Yilan crater in China, which is most likely the youngest impact structure on Earth. The incomplete ring is also the largest of its kind and only the second impact crater ever found in the country.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.
Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. You are now subscribed
Once a week Life's Little Mysteries Feed your curiosity with an exclusive mystery every week, solved with science and delivered direct to your inbox before it's seen anywhere else.
Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.
Where is it? Yilan crater, Heilongjiang province, China [46.38232967, 129.31209278]
What's in the photo? The incomplete remains of the world's youngest impact structure
Which satellite took the photo? Landsat 8
When was it taken? Oct. 8, 2021
This striking satellite photo shows a recently uncovered meteor crater in China that is likely the youngest impact structure on Earth and the largest in its wider age bracket. The horseshoe-shaped depression is also only the second impact crater ever discovered in the country.
The Yilan crater is an incomplete, nearly circular impact crater located in the Lesser Xing'an (also spelled Khingan) mountain range of China's Heilongjiang province, around 12.5 miles (20 kilometers) northwest of the town of Yilan. It is approximately 1.15 miles (1.85 km) across at its widest point, and its ringed walls reach up to 500 feet (150 meters) above the crater floor.
Chinese researchers discovered that the incomplete ring was an impact crater in mid-2021, around three months before this photo was taken. Until then, it had largely gone unnoticed because it is surrounded by thick forests. Although locals knew about the structure, they called it Quanshan, meaning "circular mountain ridge," which suggests they had no idea of its extraterrestrial origins.
- Rare dusting of snow covers one of the driest place on Earth and shuts down massive radio telescope
- Hidden beauty of Zimbabwe's 2.5 billion-year-old 'geological marvel' revealed in striking astronaut photo
- City-size 'cosmic butterfly' carved into Mars' surface contains traces of ancient water
However, when the research team dug up to 1,440 feet (440 m) beneath the crater's floor, they found "shocked quartz, melted granite, glass containing holes formed by gas bubbles, and tear-drop-shaped glass fragments" — all clear signs that a sizable space rock had slammed down there, according to NASA's Earth Observatory.
Carbon dating revealed that the crater formed sometime between 46,000 and 53,000 years ago, meaning it could be the youngest of the roughly 200 major impact craters on Earth.
Until this discovery, the most widely accepted "youngest major crater" on Earth was Barringer Crater (also known as Meteor Crater) in Arizona, which dates back 50,000 years, according to the Lunar and Planetary Institute. Given the uncertainty around the Yilan crater's age, researchers cannot be sure that it is younger than Barringer Crater, although it is thought likely.
The Yilan crater is also the largest of any impact crater under 100,000 years old, so it beats another record previously held by Barringer Crater, which is around 0.75 mile (1.2 km) across.
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
As you can see in the satellite photo, the southern third of the crater's rim is missing. Researchers are unsure exactly when or how this section of the crater's rim disappeared. However, sediment found on the crater's floor hints that there was formerly a lake within the crater, which strongly suggests that the structure was once fully intact, according to the Earth Observatory.
The Yilan crater is the first impact crater to be discovered in China since the 1.1-mile-wide (1.8 km) Xiuyan crater in Liaoning province, which dates back to between 330,000 and 1.1 million years ago, was confirmed in 2009.
Given how large China is — around the same size as the U.S. by land area — it has long been a mystery as to why more impact craters haven't been found there. However, others have been uncovered following the discovery of the Yilan crater.
In September 2023, scientists discovered a third Chinese crater, around the same size as the Yilan crater. Carved into the summit of a mountain near the North Korean border, the crater dates back at least 150 million years.
Then, in October 2025, scientists confirmed a fourth impact structure, dubbed the Jinlin crater, on a mountain near Zhaoqing in China's Guangdong province. This crater is only around 3,000 feet (900 m) wide and may date to as recently as the current epoch, known as the Holocene, which began 11,700 years ago, according to Sci News, although its age is unconfirmed.
'Geological marvel' in Zimbabwe
