Researchers in Western Australia have found the oldest meteorite impact crater in the world. It is estimated that a huge meteorite struck the Earth 3.5 billion years ago, creating the North Pole Dome Site in the Pilbara region. There is minimal flora in the crater, which is a huge, bare area of red rock. The study, published in Nature Communications, reveals that the impact would have had a profound effect on the Earth’s surface, potentially creating an environment conducive to the emergence of life. Researchers discovered the crater thanks to ‘shatter cones’, distinctive rock formations only formed under the intense pressure of a meteorite strike. The shatter cones at the site, about 40 kilometres west of Marble Bar in WA’s Pilbara area, were formed when a Meteorite slammed into the area at more than 36,000 km/h. This would have been a major planetary event, resulting in a crater more than 100 km wide that would have sent debris flying across the globe. The discovery is anticipated to provide fresh insight into the first stages of life on Earth.