Ames crater is a buried impact crater in northwestern Oklahoma, about 10 miles wide and hidden beneath roughly 9,000 feet of sediment near the town of Ames. Formed about 470 million years ago when a meteorite struck a shallow seabed, it created intense pressure and a central uplift before later burial erased any surface trace. Its impact origin was confirmed through geological evidence after other explanations were considered. Identified in 1991 through seismic data by Rex Olson of Continental Resources, the structure soon proved important for petroleum exploration: impact-fractured Arbuckle Dolomite made major oil and natural gas production possible, giving Ames scientific and economic significance.