An explosion crater is a type of crater formed when material is ejected from the surface of the ground by an explosive event at or immediately above or below the surface. A crater is formed by an explosive event through the displacement and ejection of material from the ground. It is typically bowl-shaped. High-pressure gas and

shock wave In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a me ...

s cause three processes responsible for the creation of the crater: * Plastic deformation of the ground. * Projection of material (

ejecta Ejecta (from the Latin: "things thrown out", singular ejectum) are particles ejected from an area. In volcanology, in particular, the term refers to particles including pyroclastic materials ( tephra) that came out of a volcanic explosion and magm ...

) from the ground by the explosion. * Spallation of the ground surface. Two processes partially fill the crater back in: * Fall-back of ejecta. * Erosion and landslides of the crater lip and wall.P. W. Cooper. ''Explosives Engineering''. Wiley-VCH. The relative importance of the five processes varies, depending on the height above or depth below the ground surface at which the explosion occurs and on the composition of the ground.

Examples

One of the largest explosion craters in Germany is in the borough of Prüm. It was caused by a huge explosion in 1949, in which an ammunition depot exploded due to unknown causes and large parts of the town were destroyed.

Examples

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See also