Jabal Waqf es Swwan crater

The Jabal Waqf es Swwan crater is a possible meteorite impact crater in Ma'an Governorate, Jordan, near the Saudi border.

The crater was proposed in 2006 by geologists Elias Salameh and Hani Khoury from the University of Jordan, along with German professor Werner Schneider. The crater has a diameter of 5.5 km. The bolide is estimated by Prof. Salameh to have been 100m in diameter, and to have had an impact velocity of 40–50 km/s. [Jordan news agency, quoted at the [http://www.bautforum.com/showthread.php?t=45663 Bad Astronomy forums] ]

The impact is estimated by the discoverers to have happened between 8000 BC and 5500 BC, which means that it would have been observed by humans. Hence, if confirmed, the impact and the resulting weather changes may have been the origin of legends about prehistoric disasters such as the Great Flood.

References

* "Scientists discover region’s largest meteor crater", The Jordan Times, August 8, 2006
* [http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/showthreaded.php/Cat/0/Number/550429/an/0/page/0 At Google Earth Community]