The Nördlinger Ries is an impact crater[1] and large circular depression in western Bavaria and eastern Baden-Württemberg.

[6] The key evidence was the presence of coesite, which, in unmetamorphosed rocks, can only be formed by the shock pressures associated with meteorite impact.

[citation needed] The Ries crater impact event is believed to be the source of moldavite tektites found in southern Bohemia and Moravia (Czech Republic).

[14] The tektite melt originated from a sand-rich surface layer that was ejected to distances up to 450 km (280 mi) downrange of the crater.

[16] On one edge of the Nördlinger Ries are the Ofnet Caves, where, at the beginning of the 20th century, archaeologists discovered thirty-three human skulls dating to the Mesolithic period.

The landing site for Apollo 14 is a heavily craterized terrain, and one of the science goals of the mission was to sample ejecta from the impact that formed Mare Imbrium.