Tswaing Meteorite Crater Reserve

General information

Located about 40km northwest of Pretoria, Tswaing is a 1 946 hectare conservation area that is home to a meteorite impact crater and surrounding wetland, as well as the remains of an old salt factory. Tswaing, which means “place of salt” in Setswana, is the site where a meteorite half a football field in size slammed into the Earth 220 000 years ago, forming a crater 1.4km in diameter and 200m deep. This crater, formerly known as the Pretoria Saltpan (or Soutpan), is one of about 170 impact craters in the world and one of four known impact craters in South Africa. It's one of the invariable tourist attractions in South Africa.