Vredefort Dome, South Africa
The largest verified impact structure on Earth, over 2 billion years old.
Terra Explorer Volcanoes and craters
Drag to rotate · scroll or pinch to zoom
Make this model
The Standard resolution model is free as STL, 3MF, Colored 3MF, OBJ and a 16-bit heightmap. High resolution samples the place about ten times more finely.
- Region
- South Africa
- Position
- -27.0000, 27.5000
- Area
- 50 × 50 km
- Real elevation
- 1,161 to 1,669 m (508 m of relief)
- Printed size
- 150 mm (5.9 in) wide, about 1:333,300
- Heights
- 4× exaggeration
- Elevation data
- Open satellite data (SRTM and others), about 30 m per point
- Suggested color
- Natural
- Group
- Volcanoes and craters
About Vredefort Dome, South Africa
Vredefort (locally , Afrikaans: [ˈfriədəfɔrt]) is a small farming town in the Free State province of South Africa with cattle, peanuts, sorghum, sunflowers and maize being farmed. It is home to 3,000 residents. The town was established in 1876 on a farm called Visgat, on the Vredefort impact structure, the largest and oldest visible bolide impact crater in the world (with a diameter of 300 kilometres (190 mi)). It was this approximately 10-kilometre (6.2 mi) wide bolide that led to the preservation of the gold-bearing reefs of the Free State some 2.02 billion years ago. The town's name, which translates to "peace fort" in Afrikaans and Dutch, was derived from the peaceful conclusion to a threatened war between the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. The British built a concentration camp here during the Second Boer War to house Boer women and children.
From Wikipedia: Vredefort, text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. The article’s history lists its authors.
Questions about Vredefort Dome, South Africa
Where is Vredefort Dome?
Vredefort Dome is in South Africa at -27.0000, 27.5000. The model covers a 50 by 50 kilometer square around that point.
How high is the terrain in the Vredefort Dome model?
The land in this model runs from 1,161 to 1,669 m (508 m of relief). These are the measured heights, printed 4 times taller so the shape is easy to see.
Can I 3D print Vredefort Dome?
Yes. Download the free Standard resolution STL and print it on any FDM or resin printer. It is 150 mm wide and about 11.1 mm tall, on a solid 5 mm base, at a scale of about 1:333,300. It also works for CNC carving. Use Customize to change the width, base thickness or height exaggeration, make it round or add a name plate.
How accurate is the Vredefort Dome model?
It is built from real elevation measurements, not an artist's guess: open satellite and survey data (NASA SRTM, Copernicus and national surveys), about 30 meters per point. The shaded picture on this page is made from the same data.
Is the Vredefort Dome model free?
The Standard resolution model is free as STL, 3MF, Colored 3MF, OBJ and a 16-bit heightmap. High resolution samples the place about ten times more finely and is a paid upgrade.
What is a Vredefort Dome terrain model good for?
People use it as a geology lesson you can hold, a classroom model or a desk piece.
About this terrain model
Embossify Terra builds Vredefort Dome, South Africa from real measured elevation, not an artist's guess. Outside the United States the heights come from open satellite and survey data (NASA SRTM, Copernicus and national surveys), about 30 meters per point.
The model covers a 50 by 50 kilometer square centered on -27.0000, 27.5000. It prints 150 mm (5.9 in) wide on a solid base, a scale of about 1:333,300. The heights are exaggerated 4× so the shape is easy to see and feel; you can change that when you customize the model. The sea is flattened to zero, so land stands on a clean base.
New to terrain printing? Read how Terra works. The shaded picture on this page is made by Embossify from the same elevation data.
