Haughton Impact Crater: Basecamp

Impact events drastically alter the geology in the vicinity of the crater by melting, uplifting, and rotating the rocks. In terms of unraveling the rock history, this can make things very complicated for geologists. Therefore, before going into the crater, let’s take a quick helocopter flight to Thomas Payne Canyon, which lies outside of the crater to the east, and look at the geology of this area.

Basecamp of the Haughton-Mars Project, located on the northwestern rim of the Haughton impact structure. In the foreground is “Tent city” where individual tents are setup for the duration of the stay. “Downtown” is where people spend time when they are not in the field. The dirt “Airstrip” where Twin Otter planes land is next to “The Fortress”, an eroded castle-like outcrop of dolomite.

Haughton lies well above the Arctic Circle and the weather even in July (shown above), can often be harsh. Temperatures can dip down to -50 C (-58 F) with strong winds (70 km/hr or 44 mi/hr). Bringing the appropriate gear to work and live under these conditions is critical. In the foreground are All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV). These are essential for getting around the impact structure, considering its area covers many tens of square kilometers!

Basecamp Just Outside of the Haughton Impact Structure Photo: G. Osinski, University of Western Ontario Location: Northwest rim of the structure Scale: Width of tents in the background is approximately 2 meters
Basecamp Areas
Basecamp Air Strip
Basecamp Dogs
So, You Want To Do Arctic Field Work… Photo: G. Osinski, University of Western Ontario Location: Northwest rim of the structure Scale: Width of ATVs is approximately 2-2.5 meters