Below is a list of those urban areas around the globe that were built upon or are situated near some of the 160 confirmed impact craters formed by meteors or comets. Impact craters are formed when sizeable meteors and/or comets strike the Earth. Some of these craters are visible at the surface, such as the Odessa Crater in Texas, while many are either subsurface or subtle. This may be due to the time which has elapsed since their formation or the climatic, vegetative, and geological features of the impact site.

For urban planners working in meteoric cities, the topographic and geological characteristics from by the impact crater may result in locally unique soil types, may have created/altered surface and subsurface water resources, or may have left behind rich mineral deposits.

For example, Greater Sudbury, Ontario is the site of one of the world’s most significant nickel deposit, largely resulting from the Sudbury Basin impact that took place there approximately 1.9 billion years ago. Copper is also heavily mined in the basin. As in the case of Greater Sudbury, the presence of raw nickel led to the establishment of the city and mining remains a significant economic engine in the region. Here is a weblink to the history of mining in the Greater Sudbury region.

Communities where impact craters are located also tend to benefit from tourism, scientific research, and just plain curiosity related to the impact crater. In many instances, the impact crater has been preserved as a park/reserve or a historic or natural landmark.

Here’s a weblink to a cool video demonstration of a meteor impact in Arizona prepared by meteorcrater.com.