| Steinheim crater | |
| Map: | Germany |
| Coordinates: | 48.6867°N 10.065°W |
| Confidence: | Confirmed |
| Age: | 15.1 ± 0.1 Ma Middle Miocene |
| Exposed: | Yes |
| Drilled: | Yes |
| Country: | Germany |
| State: | Baden-Württemberg |
| District: | Heidenheim |
| Municipality: | Steinheim am Albuch |
The Steinheim crater is a meteorite crater in Steinheim am Albuch, Heidenheim County, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.[1] The crater is located at the north-eastern end of the Swabian Alb, 40km west of the much larger (24-km-diameter) Nördlinger Ries crater.[2] [3]
It is 3.8 km in diameter and the age is estimated to be about 14.3 million years (Miocene). The crater is exposed at the surface. It had previously been thought that the two craters formed simultaneously by the impact of a double asteroid 14.8 million years ago, but a study published in 2020 suggests that Steinheim could actually be about 500,000 years younger than Nördlinger Ries.[4] [5]