Impact craters in the surroundings of the Gulf of Finland

The present study describes meteorite craters that have affected the Precambrian basement in the surroundings of the Gulf of Finland. Altogether there are six craters in which the impact either has hit the crystalline crust more or less directly, or penetrated through more than 100 m of sediments to reach the basement. Some characteristics of the structure and present state of erosion are given, as well as the age and geophysical data that are currently available. It is also pointed out that the study of meteoritic craters shoud be classed as a branch of environmental research, adopting the concept of catastrophical events as important episodes in the geological record.