Traces of Catastrophe: A Handbook of Shock-Metamorphic Effects in Terrestrial Meteorite Impact Structures is a book written by Bevan M. French of the Smithsonian Institution.

[1] The book has become very influential in the field of impact crater research, appearing as a common reference for papers and web sites on the topic.

[3] NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) lists it among general references relevant to Planetary Science across the Solar System.

[4] NASA GSFC also has a Remote Sensing Tutorial site which calls Traces of Catastrophe an "exceptional summary of impact cratering.

On Earth, impact craters differ from other processes in geology in being rare, from a release of extremely large amounts of energy, and happening in an instant.

Chapter 5 surveys various impactites, meaning shock-metamorphosed rocks, and where they are found in an impact structure based on the pressures in various parts of the cratering process.