Unknown to most, a massive crater lies in the Tsau //Khaeb (Sperrgebiet) National Park, the sandy remains from the impact of a meteorite that collided with the Earth approximately 5 million years ago.
Roter Kamm, translated from German as ‘Red Ridge’, is 2.5 kilometres wide and 130 metres deep. Nothing remains of the meteorite itself, suggesting that it disintegrated on impact. The crater is located north-west of Rosh Pinah in a private concession area in the vast and epic landscape of the Sperrgebiet. Because of its size, it is only visible in its entirety from above.
The rim, softened by aeolian sand, and the original floor - now covered with a 100-metre thick carpet of sand deposits - belie the tremendous thud that must have rocked this section of the country as the meteorite plummeted into the granite-gneiss rock of the Namaqua Metamorphic Complex.
As the crater wasn’t visible from the ground, it wasn’t shown on early maps as a crater, but as a red ridge - Roter Kamm. The first aircraft would have appeared in the country during World War One. The crater was most probably only recognised for what it was in the 1940s and 50s when passengers and crew on flights to Oranjemund would have noticed it from the air.
Consolidated Diamond Mines (CDM) was initially interested in it, thinking it may be the result of a kimberlite volcanic eruption harbouring diamonds, but on closer inspection they realised that it was an impact crater from a meteorite and found no evidence of volcanic activity in the area.
We wonder how many more millions of years it will take for the sand to cover this momentous geological event completely and for the crater to sink quietly into the magnificence of the Namib Desert, without leaving a trace.
(References: Roter Kamm Impact Crater in Namibia (nasa.gov); Roter Kamm crater - Wikipedia)