Chicxulub Impact: Mass Extinction

Approximately 66 million years ago, an asteroid roughly 10 kilometers in diameter struck the Yucatan Peninsula, creating the 200-kilometer-wide Chicxulub crater. The impact released energy equivalent to 100 teratonnes of TNT, generating shockwaves, tsunamis, and ejecting debris that blocked sunlight globally. The resulting prolonged cooling, darkness, and ocean acidification triggered the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, eliminating approximately 75 percent of all plant and animal species, including all non-avian dinosaurs.