United States Meteorite Impact Craters

Red Wing Crater - North Dakota's, Red Wing impact crater, located in McKenzie county, is recorded in the Earth Impact Database as an unexposed 9 km structure.  It is buried beneath about 2000 meters of sedimentary rock.

Evidence of Impact Origin

The impact origin of each location listed on this website has been supported by unambiguous diagnostic evidence of hypervelocity impact that has been reported in a scientific (usually peer reviewed) context.  Without such evidence, a geological structure is not a confirmed impact crater.  This section, which is included for each crater on this website, is not an exhaustive list of such published evidence, but is meant to demonstrate that appropriate work has been done for each listing.

Nature of diagnostic evidence:

• planar deformation features in quartz grains, at least 3 sets, indexed.
• Shatter cones.

Other significant evidence: breccia, characteristic structural morphology.

Bibliography and References:

(If links to articles don't work, don't give up. Try pasting the link shown into a search engine or searching for the article authors, title, or other reference information.  If your research leads you to additional scientific references related to this crater, please help improve this resource by sending a note with the new citation(s) to: robert@impactcraters.us )

Barton, R., Bird, K., Hernandez, J. G., Grajales-Nishimura, J. M., Murillo-Muneton, G., Herber, B., Weimer, P., Koeberl, C.,Neumaier, M., Schenk, O., and Stark, J. (2010) High-Impact Reservoirs. Oilfield Review, volume 21, number 4.

http://69.18.148.120/~/media/Files/resources/oilfield_review/ors09/win09/02_high_impact_reservoirs.pdf

Brenan R. L., Petersen B. L. and Smith H. J. (1975) The Origin of Red Wing Creek Structure, McKenzie County, North Dakota. Wyoming Geological Association, Earth Science Bulletin, volume 8, number 3, pp. 1-41.

http://archives.datapages.com/data/wyoming-geo-assoc-earth-science-bull/data/008/008003/1_esb080001.htm

Bridges, L. W. D. (1978) Red Wing Creek Field, North Dakota: A Concentricline of Structural Origin (abstract). Montana Geological Society, Twenty-fourth Annual Conference, Williston Basin Symposium, The Economic Geology of Williston Basin. pp. 315-326

http://archives.datapages.com/data/mgs/mt/data/0034/0315/0315.html

Bridges, L. W. D. (1978) Red Wing Creek Field, North Dakota: A Growth Faulted or Meteoritic Impact Structure (abstract). Rocky Mountain Association of Geologists, 1987 Symposium, Williston Basin, Anatomy of a Cratonic Oil Province. p. 433-.

http://archives.datapages.com/data/rmag/WillistonCratonic1987/bridges.htm

Bridges, L. W. D. (1977) Red Wing Creek Field, North Dakota - Cryptoexplosion 
Structure of Subsurface Origin Rather Than Meteor-Impact Structure (abstract). Abstract from the AAPG-SEPM Rocky Mountain Sections Meeting. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 61, no. 8, p. 1372. 

http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/abstracts/html/1977/rms/abstracts/1372b.htm

Donofrio, R. R. (1981) Impact craters: implications for basement hydrocarbon production. Journal of Petroleum Geology, volume 3, issue 3, pp. 279–302. doi: 10.1111/j.1747-5457.1981.tb00931.x

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-5457.1981.tb00931.x/abstract

or

http://www.parwestlandexploration.com/docs/jpgart.pdf

Donofrio, R. R. (1994) Petroleum Exploration Strategies For Impact Features (abstract). Abstract from the 1994 AAPG Annual Convention.

http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/abstracts/html/1994/annual/abstracts/0138b.htm?q=%2BtextStrip%3Ared+textStrip%3Awing

Donofrio, R. R. (1997) Survey of hydrocarbon-producing impact structures in North America: Exploration results to date and potential for discovery in Precambrian basement rock, in Ames Structure in Northwest Oklahoma and Similar Features: Origin and Petroleum Production (1995 Symposium), Johnson, K. S. and Campbell, J. A., eds. Oklahoma Geological Survey, Circular 100, pp. 17-29.

http://www.ogs.ou.edu/pubsscanned/Circulars/Circular100.pdf

Fischer, D. W. and Bluemle, J. P. (1986) Oil exploration and develoment in the North Dakota Williston Bason: 1984-1985 update. North Dakota Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Series No. 67.

https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndgs/documents/Publication_List/pdf/MiscSeries/MS-67.pdf

See also other related oil exploration reports and updates concerning Red Wing crater in the Miscellaneous Series of the North Dakota Geological Survey, I have not enumerated these in this bibliography.  The link follows:

https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndgs/Publication_List/ms.asp

Gerhard, L. C. and Anderson, S. B. (1979) Oil exploration and development in the North Dakota Williston Basin. North Dakota Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Series No. 57, 19 pages.

https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndgs/documents/Publication_List/pdf/MiscSeries/MS-57.pdf

Gerhard, L. C., Anderson, S. B., Lefever, J. A. and Carlson, C. G. (1982) 
Geological development, origin, and energy mineral resources of Williston Basin, 
North Dakota. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 66, pp. 
989-1020, reprinted as North Dakota Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Series 63. 

https://www.dmr.nd.gov/ndgs/documents/Publication_List/pdf/MiscSeries/MS-63.pdf

Grieve, R. A. F. (1982) The record of impact on Earth: Implications for a major Cretaceous/Tertiary impact event. Geological Society of America, Special Paper 190, pp. 25-38.

http://specialpapers.gsapubs.org/content/190/25.abstract

Grieve, R. A. F. (2005) Economic natural resource deposits at terrestrial impact structures. in McDonald, I., Boyce, A. J., Butler, I. B., Herrington, R. J. and Polya, D. A. (editors), 2005, Mineral Deposits and Earth Evolution. Geological Society, London, Special Publications, no. 248, pp. 1-29.

http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/248/1/1.full.pdf

Grieve, R. A. F., Kreis, K., Therriault, A. M., and Robertson, P. B. (1998) Impact Structures in the Williston Basin (abstract). Abstracts of the 61st Annual Meteoritical Society Meeting, Meteoritics and Planetary Science, volume 33, p. A63.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc98/pdf/5148.pdf

or

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1998M%26PSA..33R..63G

Grieve, R. A. F. and Masaitis, V. L. (1994) The economic potential of terrestrial impact craters. International Geology Review, v. 36, pp. 105-151.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00206819409465452

Grieve, R. A. F., Robertson, P. B., & Dence, M. R. (1981) Constraints on the formation of ring impact structures, based on terrestrial data. in Multi-ring basins: Formation and evolution, Proceedings of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, 1980. (A82-39033 19-91) New York and Oxford, Pergamon Press, pp. 37-57.

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1981mrbf.conf...37G

Grieve, R. A. F., Therriault, A. M., Kreis, L. K. (1998) Impact structures of the western sedimentary basin of North America: New discoveries and hydrocarbon resources, 8th International Williston Basin Symposium, pp. 189-201.

http://archives.datapages.com/data/sgs_wb_utf/data/0010/0189/0189.html

Herber, B. Weimer, P., Barton, R., Hammon, W. (2009) 3D Interpretation of a Meteorite Impact Field, Red Wing Creek Field, Williston Basin, Western North Dakota (abstract). 2009 AAPG International Conference and Exhibition.

http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/abstracts/html/2009/intl/abstracts/herber.htm?q=%2BtextStrip%3Ared+textStrip%3Awing

Herber, B., Weimer, P., Bouroullec, R., Barton, R., Hammon, W., Dorn, G., Huang, C., Jiang, S. (2011) 3-D Interpretation of a Meteorite Impact Field, Red Wing Creek Field, Williston Basin, Western North Dakota.

http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/pdfz/abstracts/pdf/2011/rocky/abstracts/ndx_herber.pdf.html?q=%252BtextStrip%253Ared+textStrip%253Awing

Kent, D. V. (1998) Impacts on Earth in the Late Triassic (letter), Nature, volume 395, p. 126.(Discussion and response regarding Spray et al. 1998.)

http://www.rci.rutgers.edu/~dvk/dvk_REPRINTS/Kent1998.pdf

Koeberl, C. and Reimold, W. U. (1995) Shock metamorphism at the Red Wing Creek structure, North Dakota: Confirmation of impact origin (abstract). Abstracts of the 26th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference, pp. 769-770.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc1995/pdf/1385.pdf

Koeberl, C., Reimold, W. U. and Brandi, D. (1996) Red Wing Creek structure, North Dakota: Petrographical and geochemical studies, and confirmation of impact origin. Meteoritics & Planetary Science, volume 31, issue 3, pp. 335-342. doi: 10.1111/j.1945-5100.1996.tb02070.x

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1996M%26PS...31..335K

or

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1945-5100.1996.tb02070.x/abstract

Lukk, G. E. (1954) The Williston basin and its exploration problems. Geophysics, volume 19, number 3, pp. 572-581. doi:10.1190/1.19030003.1

http://geophysics.geoscienceworld.org/content/19/3/572.abstract

McCaslin, J. C. (1976) Red Wing Creek; The meteor-made field. Oil & Gas Journal, volume 74, number 3, p. 79.

no link found

Ormo, J. and Lindstrom, M. (2000) When a cosmic impact strikes the sea bed, Geological Magazine, volume 137, issue 1, p.67-80.

http://geolmag.geoscienceworld.org/content/137/1/67.abstract

Parson, E. S., Henderson, G. W. and Conti, L. J. (1980) Red Wing Creek Field -- Cosmic Impact Structure (abstract). American Association of Petrolium Geologists Bulletin, volume 64, issue 6, p. 961.

http://archives.datapages.com/data/bulletns/1980-81/data/pg/0064/0006/0950/0961a.htm

Parson, E. S. (1974) Red Wing Creek Field, North Dakota -- An Extraterrestrial Hydrocarbon Trap (abstract). American Association of Petrolium Geologists Bulletin, volume 58, issue 5, p. 910.

http://archives.datapages.com/data/bulletns/1974-76/data/pg/0058/0005/0900/0910a.htm

Pickard, C. F. (1994) Twenty years of production from an impact structure, Red Wing Creek field, McKenzie County, North Dakota (abstract). American Association of Petrolium Geologists, 1994 Annual Meeting.

http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/abstracts/html/1994/annual/abstracts/0234c.htm

Reimold, W. U., Koeberl, C., Gibson, R. L., and Dressler, B. O. (2005) Economic mineral deposits in impact structures: A Review. In Impact Tectonics, edited by Koeberl, C. and Henkel, H. Berlin-Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 479-522.

http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F3-540-27548-7_20

http://www.univie.ac.at/geochemistry/koeberl/publikation_list/265-Economics%20of%20craters-Impact%20Tectonics-2005.pdf

Rountree, S. L. K. (1983) Williston basin. Milestone test renews interest in Red Wing Creek field's meteor crater.  

http://libra.msra.cn/Publication/60053313/williston-basin-milestone-test-renews-interest-in-red-wing-creek-field-s-meteor-crater

Sawatzky, H. B. (1974) Astroblemes in the Williston Basin. Journal of the Canadian Society of Exploration Geophysicists, volume 10, number 1, pp. 23-38.

http://csegjournal.com/assets/pdfs/archives/1974_12/1974_Sawatzky_H_williston_basin.pdf

Sawatzky, H. B. (1975) Astroblemes in Williston Basin: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, volume 59, no. 4, p. 694-710.

http://archives.datapages.com/data/bulletns/1974-76/data/pg/0059/0004/0650/0694.htm

Sawatzky, H. B. (1976) Why petroleum explorationist should be on lookout for buried fossil craters (abstract). American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin, v. 60, no. 8, p. 1409-1410.

http://www.searchanddiscovery.com/abstracts/html/1976/rms/abstracts/1409b.htm?q=%252Btext%253Aaapg

Sawatzky, H. B. (1977) Buried impact craters in the Williston basin and adjacent area. in Impact and Explosion Cratering, Roddy, D. J., Pepin, R. O. and Merrill, R. B., eds., Pergamon Press, New York, pp. 461-480.

http://adsabs.harvard.edu/full/1977iecp.symp..461S

Schmieder, M., Schwarz, W. H., Buchner, E., Pesonen, L. J., Lehtinen, M., Trieloff, M. (2012) Double and Multiple Impact Events on Earth - Hypotheses, Tests, and Problems (abstract). Abstracts of the 75th Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society. Meteoritics and Planetary Science, volume 47, issue supplement s1, p. A341.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2012/pdf/5005.pdf

or

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1945-5100.2012.01401_2.x/abstract

Spray, J. G., and Kelley, S. P. (2001) Terrestrial Multiple Impact Events (abstract #3087). Abstracts of the International Conference on Catastrophic Events and Mass Extinctions: Impacts and Beyond.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/impact2000/pdf/3087.pdf

Spray, J. G., Kelley, S. P., and Rowley, D. B. (1998) Evidence for a Late Triassic Multiple Impact Event on Earth (abstract no. 1806). Abstracts of the 29th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference.

http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/LPSC98/pdf/1806.pdf

Spray, J. G., Kelley, S. P., and Rowley, D. B. (1998) Evidence for a late Triassic multiple impact event on Earth, Nature, volume 392, pp. 171-173. doi:10.1038/32397

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v392/n6672/full/392171a0.html

or

https://geosci.uchicago.edu/~rowley/Rowley/Publications_files/Nature%201998%20Spray.pdf

Westbroek, H-H. and Stewart, R. R. (1996) The formation , morphology, and economic potential of meteorite impact craters. CREWES Research Report, volume 8.

http://www.crewes.org/ForOurSponsors/ResearchReports/1996/1996-34.pdf