Who Killed Our Dinosaurs In Parys and Surrounding Areas?
Well, if our scientists are to be believed, the answer is probably a big stone from heaven! In fact, this stone can probably also be blamed for a good many other things as well; like it might also have been the cause for the rich diamond and gold ore that can be found in the Witwatersrand area of Gauteng!
So who or what was this stone? One of the largest and oldest meteorites (or astroblemes) that ever hit the earth form outer space. It caused such a big hole or crater that the towns of Welkom (south- west) and Klerksdorp (north-west) and even Krugersdorp (north-east) are all actually sitting right on top of this crater today, as the crater is estimated to be about 300km wide, with Vredefort in the centre. It is the largest impact crater on earth. The Vaal river runs through the middle of this site. Only the north western half of the structure remains visible. The south eastern half was flooded by the sediments of the Karoo Supergroup, which cover the Free State province.
The stone, they say, was as big as a mountain and 2 000 million years ago it hit the earth at a speed of about 70 000 km/h. This lead to the largest energy release event on earth. The impact made the earth heave and melt in the immediate area, leading to great global change and even evolutionary transformations.
All I know, is that I am crazy about the area, just north of Parys, which is called the Dome or Koepel, with its vary unique atmosphere. I love touching the special upturned and overturned rocks with the clear evidence of this momentous event still embedded in them. Forget about Venus de Milo in the Louvre in Paris, France, estimated to be about 2 000 years old; the rocks in Parys, Vrystaat, are 2 million years old! So treat them with reverence when you visit this UNESCO World Heritage site, as these rocks have already been the target of graffiti artists – some 2 million years ago, in the form of the San hunters!
It is, therefore, my pleasure to tell you that a moratorium has been placed on any future developments in this area. But I do want to feature one of the very last developments that was still allowed, making it a very unique place to live, apart from its obvious beauty and luxury. Please click here:
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small corrections:
the meteorite impact at Vredefort occurred long before dinosaurs walked the earth at around 2.23 BILLION years ago (not million). Dinosaurs were apparently wiped out by the Chixulub (gulf of Mexico)meteorite impact 65 million years ago. At the time of the Vredefort impact the only recorded life on the planet was blue green algae.
The rocks you mention were formed before the impact occurred with the oldest 3.2 – 3.4 BILLION years old.
kind regards, warrin.
Wow! How awesome. So the rocks we can touch here today are 3.4 billion years old? Thanks for info Warrin
))