impact crater. If so, the impactor would have encountered the atmosphere at velocities of approximately , and the released energy of the airburst would have been comparable to or greater than any known nuclear explosion. Extreme heat created by such atmospheric disruption would have formed convection cells that lifted the surface unconsolidated material into the fireball, where it melted and subsequently settled to Earth in the form of glass beads. The hypervelocity plume of such an airburst could have reached the ground and created the bowl-like feature visible today. See also List of possible impact structures on Earth Campo del Cielo Río Cuarto craters References Bibliography Impact craters of South America Possible impact craters on Earth Pleistocene impact craters Pleistocene Bolivia Geology of Bolivia Landforms of La Paz Department (Bolivia)