Danau Rayo from the geoscience perspective: Is it a product of a meteor crater?

Abstract

Danau Rayo, one of the candidate’s geosites, is located in Kecamatan Rupit, Musi Rawa Utara Regency, and consists of the Kasai Formation as the Quaternary volcanic product. This study intends to Aind Danau Rayo’s uniqueness from the geoscience perspective, especially a morphological approach. The shape of the lake, which looks like a perfect circle with a diameter of about 645 meters in the middle of a plain that is not connected to a river, shows its geological uniqueness. The results of 3-dimensional modeling show that there are elevations on several sides, especially the southeast side, allowing the hypothesis that the lake is a meteor fall that formed a crater. The intensive weathering and erosion processes cause the features of the crater rim—characterized by rounded lithology, excellent sorting, open packing, high porosity, and good permeability— to convert into a slip plane when a meteor impacts the northwest lake rim, leaving no trace behind. The unique geological feature of this geosite may add its geological value for geotourism development in this area.