A Curtin University group has identified what may be Earth’s oldest meteorite strike in a remote part of Western Australia’s Pilbara region, near the North Pole Dome. Evidence in local rock indicates the collision happened around 3.

Led by Curtin University geologists Chris Kirkland and Tim Johnson, a research team unearthed this primeval crater beneath rock layers in the East Pilbara Terrane of Western Australia. The oldest Archaean crater before this discovery went back only 2.2 billion years.

It was a respectable tenure, but the world’s oldest known meteorite site is no longer western Australia’s 2.2 billion-year-old, 43-mile-wide Yarrabubba crater. Researchers at Curtin University and the Geological Survey of Western Australia (GSWA) say the new recordholder is located about 660 miles north in the country’s Pilbara region.

Researchers say they have found "unequivocal evidence" that a meteorite smashed into Earth 3.47 billion years ago, potentially affecting plate tectonics and creating conditions for life.

Curtin University researchers have discovered the world's oldest known meteorite impact crater, which could significantly redefine our understanding of the origins of life and how our planet was shaped.

The world's oldest known impact crater has been identified at a site in the Pilbara, which is a part of Western Australia... | Earth And The Environment

The oldest meteorite impact crater on Earth (3.5 billion years old) has been discovered in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

World’s oldest impact crater found, rewriting Earth’s ancient history. Researchers from Curtin University found the granddaddy of all craters in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, clocking in at 3.5 billion years old. This meteorite smash, marked by funky "shatter cones," was a… pic.twitter.com/gM8FtszD4a

We have discovered the oldest meteorite impact crater on Earth, in the very heart of the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The crater formed more than 3.5 billion years ago, making it the oldest known by more than a billion years.

Scientists published the discovery of a 3.5-billion-year-old meteorite impact crater, making it the oldest known by more than a billion years.