Louisiana's Meteor Crater

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Scientists working for the Louisiana Geological Survey believe they may have discovered a large crater caused by the impact of a meteor more than 10,000 years ago. The crater, more than a mile across, was discovered in a rural area of St. Helena Parish in southeastern Louisiana.

Paul Heinrich of LSU and other scientists noticed a circular depression in a laser image along Louisiana Highway 37. Heinrich explained that “since there are no volcanoes in Louisiana and there are no salt domes in this part of Louisiana, we knew that something strange was happening.” Further research indicated that the feature was likely a meteor crater, possibly caused by a meteor impact that occurred more than ten thousand years ago.

While erosion and weathering in Louisiana’s soft soil have erased what was once a massive hole, the outline of the crater is still visible today. A St. Helena Fire Station is located on the western rim of the meteor crater, about 3 miles southwest of the town of Greensburg.

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