Suevite in Altenbürg quarry: close-up view

Ries Meteorite Crater Geopark.

Close-up view of suevite in the Altenbürg quarry located on the southwest crater rim.

Suevite is formed from the fallout of the partially melted and vaporised ejecta debris shot high into the atmosphere as a result of the meteorite impact when temperatures and pressures almost instantaneously reached 20,000°C and several million bar. The darker blue-grey fragments are partly devitrified glass with many small spherules formed from condensed liquid melt.

This quarry was crucial in the development of the correct understanding and interpretation of the Ries crater. The identification of coesite, stishovite (high temperature and pressure varieties of quartz) and diamond in the suevite enabled the latter to be identified as a meteorite impact ejecta blanket rather than of volcanic origin.