Serpent Mound crater, also known as the Serpent Mound Disturbance, is an eroded meteorite impact crater in Ohio, United States. It lies largely in Adams County, with the northern part mostly in Highland County, except for a small northeast part in Pike County.
It is classified as a complex crater because it features a central uplift, a transition zone, and a ring graben (a ring-shaped trough in the outer part of the crater). Although eroded, the original rim diameter is estimated at 8 km (5.0 mi) and the age is estimated to be less than 320 million years (Mississippian or younger).
The crater is named after the Serpent Mound, an effigy mound, located on a plateau in Brush Creek Valley within the crater.
Famous quotes containing the words serpent, mound and/or crater:
“Alas I find the Serpent old
That, twining in his speckled breast,
About the flow’rs disguis’d does fold,
With wreaths of Fame and Interest.”
—Andrew Marvell (1621–1678)
““... It is not the stones,
But the child’s mound ...”
“Don’t, don’t, don’t,
don’t,” she cried.”
—Robert Frost (1874–1963)
“Give me a condor’s quill! Give me Vesuvius’ crater for an inkstand!”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)