Bigach Crater Heavily Modified by Natural Processes

The age of an impact crater has a tremendous influence on how the structure looks like to an external observer. The formation in this image, called the Bigach Impact Crater, is located in northeastern Kazakhstan, but its nature is not immediately visible from the ground.

Its interior is relatively flat, but the impact feature is more than 8 kilometers (4.97 miles) in diameter. Over time, rain, snow and other natural phenomena eroded the clear rim of the crater, leaving it somehow smudged on the planet's surface.

Even in this image taken from orbit – by the Expedition 28 crew aboard the International Space Station – does not clearly show its edges. This particular crater is estimated to be around five million years old, which is relatively young in geological terms.

The NASA Earth Observatory photo also depicts agricultural fields inside the center of the crater.