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“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Yorktown in York County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)
 

Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater

 
 
Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, April 20, 2013
1. Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater Marker
Inscription. The world’s sixth largest impact crater was created about 35 million years ago when a two to three mile wide asteroid or comet splashed into a shallow sea and shattered Earth’s crust. Debris shot up and everything within 600 miles was killed. A crater formed, centered about eighteen miles east of Yorktown, near the town of Cape Charles, Virginia. Yorktown and Gloucester Point sit on the western rim of the buried crater and the York River bends sharply to the northeast because it crosses the underlying crater rim.

Considerable scientific research has been conducted in recent years to increase understanding about this amazing feature. Debris from the impact has been identified as far away as the Caribbean Sea.

Illustrations courtesy of The Virginian Pilot.
 
Erected 2010 by York County.
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Science & MedicineWaterways & Vessels.
 
Location. 37° 14.134′ N, 76° 30.317′ W. Marker is in Yorktown, Virginia, in York County. Marker can be reached from Water Street west of Comte de Grasse Street, on the right when traveling west. Located along Yorktown's Riverwalk. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Yorktown VA 23690, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8
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other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Pirates in Yorktown? (here, next to this marker); An Archer House (within shouting distance of this marker); Yorktown’s Waterfront (within shouting distance of this marker); York Under Siege 1781 (within shouting distance of this marker); York “Under The Hill” (within shouting distance of this marker); Yorktown Waterfront (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Yorktown's Sunken Fleet (about 300 feet away); The Brig Betsy (about 300 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Yorktown.
 
Related marker. Click here for another marker that is related to this marker.
 
Yorktown's Riverwalk image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Bernard Fisher, April 20, 2013
2. Yorktown's Riverwalk
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on November 14, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 21, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia. This page has been viewed 723 times since then and 19 times this year. Photos:   1, 2. submitted on April 21, 2013, by Bernard Fisher of Richmond, Virginia.

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Mar. 19, 2024