Shatter cone

thumb|right|Shatter cone from the [[Steinheim crater|Steinheim Basin (type locality), Germany]]

thumb|right|Largest shatter cone registered, more than 9m in height, [[Slate Islands (Ontario)|Slate Islands, Terrace Bay, Ontario, Canada]]

<!-- thumb|right|Strahlenkalk (shatter cone) within ammonite steinkern from the [[Steinheim crater|Steinheim Basin (type locality), Germany.]] -->

thumb|right|Typical shatter cone from [[Nördlinger Ries|Ries impact crater, Germany]]

Shatter cones are rare geological features that are only known to form in the bedrock beneath meteorite impact craters or underground nuclear explosions. They are evidence that the rock has been subjected to a shock with pressures in the range of .

Morphology

Shatter cones have a distinctively conical shape that radiates from the top (apex) of the cones repeating cone-on-cone in large and small scales in the same sample. Sometimes they have more of a spoon shape on the side of a larger cone.