Lake Bosumtwi

The Lake Bosomtwe impact crater is in diameter, slightly larger than the present lake which is approximately across, and is estimated to be 1.07 million years old (Pleistocene period). The crater has been partly eroded, and is situated in dense rainforest, making it difficult to study and confirm its origin by meteorite impact. Shock features such as shatter cones are largely overgrown by vegetation or covered by the lake. However, drilling of the crater's central uplift beneath the lake floor has recently provided an abundance of shocked materials for scientific study. asserts that the possible origin of the impactor is an asteroid coming from the middle main-belt at a high inclination (>17 degrees).{{cite journal | author = Galiazzo, M. A. |author2=Bazsó, Á. |author3=Huber, M. S. |author4=Losiak, A. |author5=Dvorak, R. |author6=Koeberl, C. | year = 2013 | title = A statistical dynamical study of meteorite impactors: A case study based on parameters derived from the Bosumtwi impact event | journal = Astronomische Nachrichten | volume = 334 | issue = 9 | pages = 936–939 | doi = 10.1002/asna.201211964 == Climate history ==

Before the asteroid impact, the area was a lush rainforest filled with animals. Following the impact, the resulting crater filled with water forming Lake Bosomtwe. Periods of heavy rainfall filled the crater with water, causing the lake level to rise above the lowest points of the rim. Such periods are evidenced from fossils of fish found on hilltops. Water even flowed from the basin through an overflow channel. However, there were also times when the water level was so low that the rainforest entered the basin rendering the lake only a small pond. Such a period, according to legend and now proved by paleoclimate records, lasted until about 300 years ago. ==See also==