Ames crater is a meteorite crater (astrobleme) in Major County, Oklahoma, United States. Ames, Oklahoma is near the center of the structure, which is southwest of Enid, Oklahoma. Buried under a thick layer of sediment, it was not discovered until 1991. Subsequent drilling within the crater found a large amount of oil and gas. It is one of the largest of six meteor craters associated with oil-producing formations in the United States.
Crater description
thumb|left|240px|Approximate extent of Ames crater
Ames Crater is in diameter and the age is estimated to be 470 ± 30 million years (Ordovician). The crater is not exposed at the surface.
It may be one of several Middle Ordovician meteors that fell roughly simultaneously 469 million years ago, part of a proposed Ordovician meteor event, including the Decorah crater in Iowa, the Slate Islands crater in Lake Superior, and the Rock Elm crater in Wisconsin.
The crater's origin has been postulated as meteorite impact, volcanic activity, dissolution collapse and other causes. Geomorphology, rock textures, mineralogies and stratigraphic arguments have been used to support impact origin.
Discovery
When the meteor struck, this part of the Earth was covered by a shallow sea. The object, traveling at an estimated speed of , created a crater in the Earth's crust. This created enormous pressures below the point of impact, which made the remnant of the meteorite recoil slightly, creating an uplift. The sea returned and over eons, deposited layers of sediment. Other geological movements tilted the formation slightly. The sea eventually disappeared, leaving the crater buried in the earth, invisible from the surface. It was discovered by Rex Olson in 1991 as he was studying a map generated using data from seismic tests. Olson, an exploration manager for Continental Resources, saw a seismic pattern that resembled a hoof print, or "a cow track in the mud". Showing the map to Harold Hamm, owner and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company, he pointed out what appeared to be an anomaly or "glitch" in the data. The two agreed that the anomaly resembled an astrobleme, a term meaning "star wound."
An unknown number of concealed impact sites have been discovered. Some have produced uranium, gold or diamonds. About 30 of the original wells were still producing in 2007. According to an article published by the American Oil & Gas Historical Society (AOGHS), Ames had produced over of oil and of natural gas, making it the largest of the six producing astroblemes in the United States.