2 Confirmed Missouri Asteroid Strikes

Missouri is a state that's full of history and that includes an era long before it was known as Missouri. Did you know that there are at least two locations in the state that were once impacted by huge asteroids and there might be a third?

I have been fortunate in my life to get to know some very smart people and that includes a few scientists who are a part of the USGS. They were responsible for me learning that the last eruption of the Yellowstone super-volcano 600,000 years ago blanketed parts of western Missouri in ash.

What I've also learned about ancient Missouri history is that there are two confirmed asteroid impacts in the state and there might be a third. Here are the two asteroid impact sites in Missouri that have been confirmed by scientists:

Crooked Creek Impact Structure

Diameter: About 4.3 miles (7 km)
Age: Roughly 320 million years old
Evidence: Scientists have found both shatter cones and shocked quartz, which are considered definitive evidence of a high-velocity asteroid impact

Decaturville Impact Structure

Location: Near the village of Decaturville, southwest of the Lake of the Ozarks
Diameter: About 3.5–4 miles (5.5–6 km)
Age: Approximately 300 million years old
Evidence: Like Crooked Creek, it contains shatter cones, shocked quartz, and a characteristic central uplift surrounded by a ring-shaped depression.

There's one more likely impact site in Missouri that hasn't been officially confirmed yet, but geologists generally agree a big space rock impacted here, too.

Weaubleau Structure

Location: Near Weaubleau in Hickory County
Diameter: About 12 miles (19 km)
Age: Estimated at around 330–340 million years old

These confirmed and potential asteroid impact sites in Missouri are known as the 38th Parallel Lineament. The structures are believed to be created by ancient asteroid impacts and/or now dormant volcanoes. They are part of the fascinating history that Missouri was literally built upon.