where is the chicxulub crater and how old is it
Chicxulub crater
The Chicxulub crater ( / ˈtʃiːkʃʊluːb / ; Mayan : ( tʃʼikʃuluɓ ) ) is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico . Its center is located near the town of Chicxulub , after which the crater is named . It was formed by a large asteroid or comet about 10 to 15 kilometres ( 6 to 9 miles ) in diameter , the Chicxulub impactor , striking the Earth . The date of the impact coincides precisely with the Cretaceous -- Paleogene boundary ( K -- Pg boundary ) , slightly less than 66 million years ago , and a widely accepted theory is that worldwide climate disruption from the event was the cause of the Cretaceous -- Paleogene extinction event , a mass extinction in which 75 % of plant and animal species on Earth suddenly became extinct , including all non-avian dinosaurs . The crater is more than 180 kilometers ( 110 miles ) in diameter and 20 km ( 12 mi ) in depth , well into the continental crust of the region of about 10 -- 30 km depth . It makes the feature the third of the largest confirmed impact structures on Earth . 
The Chicxulub crater ( / ˈtʃiːkʃʊluːb / ; Mayan : ( tʃʼikʃuluɓ ) ) is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico . Its center is located near the town of Chicxulub , after which the crater is named . It was formed by a large asteroid or comet about 10 to 15 kilometres ( 6 to 9 miles ) in diameter , the Chicxulub impactor , striking the Earth . The date of the impact coincides precisely with the Cretaceous -- Paleogene boundary ( K -- Pg boundary ) , slightly less than 66 million years ago , and a widely accepted theory is that worldwide climate disruption from the event was the cause of the Cretaceous -- Paleogene extinction event , a mass extinction in which 75 % of plant and animal species on Earth suddenly became extinct , including all non-avian dinosaurs . The crater is more than 180 kilometers ( 110 miles ) in diameter and 20 km ( 12 mi ) in depth , well into the continental crust of the region of about 10 -- 30 km depth . It makes the feature the third of the largest confirmed impact structures on Earth .
The Chicxulub crater is buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, near the town of Chicxulub, and is dated slightly less than 66 million years ago.
The Chicxulub crater ( / ˈtʃiːkʃʊluːb / ; Mayan : ( tʃʼikʃuluɓ ) ) is an impact crater buried underneath the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico . Its center is located near the town of Chicxulub , after which the crater is named .