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New evidence suggests a comet slammed into Earth 370 million years ago, blasting a huge crater into the sea floor and triggering 1,000-foot waves that led to the extinction of many species, geologists said Monday.
The crash might have been the first in a series of comet strikes that changed life on Earth, including the extinction of dinosaurs millions of years later.
Charles Sandberg of the U.S. Geological Survey said at a conference that the comet hit about 130 miles northwest of Las Vegas when the region was covered by ocean.
The force of the blast created a crater on the sea floor 30 to 50 miles wide, he said, and left crystals of shocked quartz that are sand grains shattered by the impact.
