About the Biggest Crater on the Earth

The largest, one of the oldest, one of the few multi-ringed impact craters on Earth. It's all about the crater Vredefort.
 

The Vredefort crater was formed about 2 billion years ago. For the most meticulous citizens, let's check, 2023 billion years. Life on Earth did not particularly boiling, the most complex organisms on the Earth were simple unicellular organisms. As you probably know, they don't have good memory and do not have their own manuscripts and there are not, therefore, eyewitnesses of it. This event occurred on the territory of modern South Africa, but this place wasn't Africa in that time and it was unlikely the South of it. For a billion years before the supercontinent Vaalbara split while other supercontinent, Rodinia, had not been formed yet. However, the event happened in the right place. A meteorite 10 kilometers in diameter sank right in Kaapvaal Craton, which is not particularly affected neither by plate tectonics or erosion. Most of the other similar craters creased beyond recognition and can only be found on other celestial bodies of the Solar System. For example, on Jupiter's moon Callisto, where you can see a wonderful multi-ring crater.

The crater has a few rings, the widest of which stretches for 300 kilometers in diameter. A hypothetical crater in Wilkes Land is a bit larger, but untill tractors do not remove all the snow from Antarctica, any reliable claims are not possible. In the center of the crater there is a hill, which arose from the splash of molten soil after the fall of the meteorite in the ground and drowned. So that the hole in the center of the Vredefort object, such as ones in the modern volcanos, is not presented. It is also nearly the oldest one, only crater Saharwi in Karelia is older among the known craters on Earth, but Saharwi is not so amusing.

In 1876, the descendants of Dutch settlers founded inside the crater a town konown as Vredefort, after which the geologic object was named. In addition to Vredefort two towns within the crater exist. The largest city in South Africa, Johannesburg, is located just on the external ring of the crater. In 2005, UNESCO declared the crater a World Heritage siteas "the largest, oldest and most deeply eroded meteorite crater found on Earth." As we know, not all of it is true.

This Day in History

Hello, everyone. I'm gonna today suggest you one wonderful blog.

On this blog you can read every day the list of the most important event that occurred on this day on the past. For example, information about the 25th of February, you can find here. Enjoy reading a fresh lavish post every day!

History of Ethiopia Explained

I think it's high time to talk about Ethiopian Empire. Usually people ignore African history, but today I'm going to set a precedent.

So, a short account about Ethiopia... I suggest visiting a wondering resource if you want to know more about history of Ethiopia. Eastern Africa is considered the origin of Homo sapiens, thus people were moving around the Eastern Africa a long time ago. They even spread from here across the world. The Ancient Egyptians also visited this place and called it Punt, or Golden land. The earliest Ancient Ethiopian state, known as Aksum kingdom, was formed in the 1st century. This state became one of the first ones that adopted Christianity. Ethiopian Orthodox Church was founded in 4th century, about 6 centuries earlier than Northern and Eastern Europe did it. In the end of 11th century cruel queen of Ethiopian Jews, who were expelled after new Christians asked them to leave their territory, occupied Ethiopia and held it with her successor about 40 years.

It became the turning point in the history of Ethiopia. One guy decided to overthrow one more time the Jews to establish their own dynasty, but for security reasons he married the heiress of the previous king. The name of this guy was Mara Takla Haymanot. This event is considered the foundation of Ethiopian Empire, which lasted until 1974. It's interesting, that the time of this event occurred is unclear, and two dates are suggested: 937 or 1137. Impressive difference. This gentleman did the city of Lalibela his capital, which left us a fewrock-cut churches and Christian cross made from a single piece of metal.

In 1270 next guy raised, and claimed that he was a descendant of King Solomon, the legendary ruler of the Ancient kingdom of Israel, therefore he he is in charge. This fellow was a native of the people called Habesha. For this people Ethiopia gained its name by which it was known for centuries - Abyssinia. Solomon dynasty ruled Ethiopia for major part of its history, from 1270 to 1974, during which it successfully resisted the Arab, Turkish and European invasion. So, from 1529 to 1543 it successfully fought against the neighboring sultanate of Adal, which occupied Abyssinia for a little while, and in one of the battle of the wars emperor David II was killed. In 1636, Emperor Fasilides founded a new capital of the state - Gondar, which left us several interesting structures.

Since year 1769 a period of disintegration of the state began, when small lords were fighting each other, and the power of the emperor became extremely weak. This troubles continued until the beginning of the reign of the Emperor Tewodro II, who managed to consolidate Ethiopia. Soon, however, during a storm Magdala castle by the British troops, the poor man was forced to shoot himself with a gun presented to him by Queen Victoria.

Further, The state of Italy entered the Scramble for Africa, starting a long epic war against Ethiopia. In 1889 the Italian signed a treaty with Emperor Menelik II, however, each party understood it in their own way since of the wrong translation of the word "may" in the agreement as "must". In 1895, Italy dared to attack Ethiopia, but the Battle of Adwa resulted in the former's crushing defeat, securing the first victory of an African state in a war against Europe. In the World War II, forces of the British Empire expelled the Italians out of Africa and returned Haile Selassie I, who would rule the country for other 30 years, to his homeland. By the way Rastafarians worship Haile Selassie I as god and see him as the second coming of Christ.

In 1974, the commie reached Africa... Marxist-Leninist junta supported by Soviet Union again overthrew Haile Selassie, and imprisoned him in jail, where he died shortly thereafter. Further, as communist were using to do, they abolished the monarchy and plunge Ethiopia into the civil war.

The Victory of Excitement

One of the most interesting pages in history of Czech Republic is Hussite wars. For me it's curious that little army of Czech rebels could resist a huge alliance of Holy Roman Emperor and his vassals, especially they archived the impressive success at Vitkov Hill, near Prague.

Hussite wars has religious reason. Bohemia, the name of about of half modern territory of Czech Republic, was mostly Protestant country, as well as some of northern states in Germany. Some years before these events one of the most notable persons went to the European stage. His name was Jan Hus. He tried to reform Catholic church, which had many internal problems. To solve economic problems papacy solt indulgences, which could devalue buyer's sins, even if he had not done any sin yet. So everyone could buy indulgence in advance. Three Popes tried to rule the Western church simultaneously, while one of them was former pirate. To restore the order Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund gathered the Council of Constance. During the discusses the Emperor decided to invite to Hus to talk to him. But it was a trap. Hus was seized and burned at a stake.

This events excited the Czechs to decisive actions. They threw the judge and burgomaster, who were catholic, out of the window of the New Town Hall, which became known as Defenestration of Prague. It is purely Czech term, and they made Defenestration twice. The second happened in two centuries, triggering the Thirty Years' War in Europe. Surprisingly, this home guard managed to resist the forces, gathered by Sigismund. Actually the most of engagements happened near Prague. Empire attempted to beat Hussites in five crusaded, but only due to internal dissension among Hussites the final crusade was successful. But the Czechs took some advantages from treaty with emperor. In hundred years the Reformation stated in Europe, and the face of Christianity changed for ever.