Bolivian Crater Information and a Rant

This image courtesy of NASA Earth Observatory http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/
Source: http://intute.ac.uk/sciences/worldguide/html/image_2093.html

Apparently, there hasn't been much research done on the Bolivian impact crater. This is due to its remote location. I did get a few bits and pieces of information about it.

• It's called the Iturralde Structure or the Araona Crater.
• It's located at 19 degrees 49' South by 68 degrees 19' West - NW edge of the Salar de Uyuni, Eastern Bolivia
• Oval - elongated in a north-south direction and bowl-shaped - 8km across
• Flat-bottomed with very steep inner walls [similar to the Barringer Crater, AZ] with raised external rim
• It is located downslope of some volcanic craters with evidence of a more recent lava flow being diverted as well as a diverted river. This proves that it is relatively recent. Also, even though some weathering has obviously occurred, the crater is still in relatively good condition - albeit, buried under layers of decomposing organic-rich soils and vegetation.

This is about all there is about this crater. No tektites, shocked minerals, or other necessary evidence. Most of the data is biological in nature with a detailed study of the soil layers and their organic and ecological implications. Geological evidence is minimal and largely absent. Where's the evidence of a human settlement destroyed by the impact? The age is not even determined: estimated to have originated between five and twenty thousand years ago. If they had conducted proper geological sampling and measurements, a more accurate date could be determined. Who cares what the ecologies were/are inside the crater since the impact? They can do that later! We need to know when it occurred and any other pieces of evidence regarding the impact itself. This is not very encouraging. It is science of the most absurd kind. A botanist led the expedition who apparently decided that the geology was of little importance. Why did they go to investigate the crater in the first place? It's a geological impact structure - that's what drew them to the site. Instead they decide to study what plants have lived inside since the impact. The impact and the crater itself are of little importance to the advancements of science. Apparently! The sad lack of geological evidence has some scientists believing that it is merely a volcanic crater instead of one created by a meteor. The vast majority of the evidence is from satellite images - that's the only way we know its size and general shape. There is just nothing written about this crater. Maybe evidence has been gathered but not yet put out there in print for reference. It is a very vexing problem. Until later...