Kaali Crater Field

Location: Kaali, Estonia Diameter: 12 to 110 metres (39 to 360 feet) Depth: 1 to 22 metres (3.3 to 72 feet) Age: 3,250 years old

Why visit one crater when you can visit nine? Located on Estonia’s largest island, Saaremaa, 18 kilometres (11 miles) from the island’s capital Kuressaare, is the Kaali crater field, consisting of one large crater and eight smaller ones.

The island is thought to have already been inhabited at the time of the meteorite impact, but the crater field’s age is still a matter of debate; estimates range from 2,420 to 7,600 years old, though recent estimates suggest it’s around 3,250 years old. Nevertheless, the event would have been quite the spectacle when the meteor broke apart into fragments when it was just five to ten kilometres (three to six miles) above the ground. The pieces then smashed into the Estonian island, creating some of Earth’s youngest giant craters.

Despite the impact occurring during a time of possible human habitation, there’s no evidence that the encounter significantly affected human occupancy on Saaremaa. However, domestic animal bones have been found at the site, and a large stone wall was built around Kaali

Lake around the beginning of the Common

Era, suggesting that the area was once used as a sacrificial site. The scientific and cultural significance of the Kaali crater field can be explored in greater detail at the Kaali Meteoritics and Limestone Museum. Here you can also view various fossils on display and learn about other discoveries made on the island of Saaremaa. A guide service is available in Estonian, English, Finnish and Russian, and there is also a gift shop.