Rochechouart lithic breccia

3D ModelNoAI

The Rochechouart impact structure is an impact structure in France. The exact dimensions of the crater are difficult to establish due to significant erosion over time, but it is ranked at 23 km in the international impact crater database. The impact has dated between 203 and 207 million years ago.Within the Rochechouart impact structure you can find various types of impactites. One of these are the lithic breccias, known as the ‘Rochechouart type’. The naming is related to prominent exposures of these rocks near the town of Rochechouart. These lithic breccias are ‘polymictic’ breccias containing shocked clasts and mineral fragments of various sources, however, they do not contain glass components like suevites. Largely owing to their robust nature and accessibility to mine them, these impactites have widely been used as a building stone in the region. (Courtesy: M. Langbroek)