Kelly West ,40klm S.W of
Tennant Creek is a deeply eroded impact crater, (impact structure or astrobleme), situated in the central Northern Territory. It was discovered during Government geological mapping and first reported in 1973, the evidence for impact coming principally from an abundance of shatter cones at the site.
The surface expression of Kelly West comprises a circular
hill of Palaeoproterozoic quartzite about 2 km in diameter, interpreted as a central uplift of a larger complex impact crater.Recent geophysical interpretation suggests an original crater diameter of 6.6 km,The age is poorly constrained, but must be older than Middle Cambrian because sedimentary rocks of this age overlie the central uplift and were not deformed by the impact event.
The Kelly West impact structure is one of a several on the Australian continent that have been discovered and studied over the last two decades. Only the central uplift (2 km diameter) of the structure is exposed.