Tookoonooka crater


Tookoonooka is a large meteorite impact crater situated in South West Queensland, Australia. It lies deeply buried within Mesozoic sedimentary rocks of the Eromanga Basin and is not visible at the surface.

Description

Tookoonooka was discovered using seismic data collected during routine petroleum exploration and first reported in a publication in 1989, with proof of the impact theory coming from the discovery of shocked quartz in drill core. Estimates of the crater diameter range from to. The impact occurred during deposition of the Cretaceous Cadna-owie Formation, the age of which is variously estimated at being between 123–133 Ma, or 115–112 Ma. Tookoonooka is associated with several small oil fields.

Talundilly crater

The seismic data reveal a similar nearby structure of the same age referred to as Talundilly. Although it seems likely that Tookoonooka and Talundilly are paired impact craters, proof that the latter is of impact origin is not possible without drilling. Another proposed paired impact craters are the larger West and East Warburton Basin structures in the nearby state of South Australia.